Darling vs the Wasteland
by PsychoEmperor
Summary: Follow Darling, the young and daring courier #6 as she trails and treks through post-apocalyptic America! From Modoc to the Commonwealth, she'll face many dangers along the way, some closer to home than others. What's adventures await for our daring young laser commando? Find out in the exciting tales of: Darling vs. the Wasteland!
1. Modoc, Mo Lovin'

**_War... war never changes..._**

Throughout history, man waged war against fellow man. First with sticks and stone, later with steel and atomic fire. The Roman Empire amassed an army of slaves to satiate it's lust for conquest. The free nation of America's north and south fought a bloody civil war over disputes over centralized power. Adolf Hitler brought Germany, a country on the brink of collapse, into the spotlight as an economic superpower... but war, war never changes.

By the late twenty-first century, the earth's resources, specifically gasoline and uranium, were dwindling until finally the peace had been broken. The United Nation dissolved and soon after, the world was consumed by turmoil. The United States and China declared war upon each other, eventually leading to the "Great War" ending in atomic fire. With the end of modern civilization, a new, more brutal society would struggle to follow.

Before the bombs dropped, few managed to reach the safety of underground vaults designed by Vault-Tec. The remainder of society on the surface either succumbed to the radiation or regressed towards tribalism.

When the vaults opened, their inhabitants began rebuilding. Vault 15 residents formed Shady Sands and thereafter the "New California Republic" or Vault 8 and it's use of the "_Garden of Eden Creation Kit_" or "G.E.C.K." becoming the oasis known as "Vault City."

Our story begins in August 2281. Darling, our young courier, after trekking miles across the open desert had finally arrived at her destination of Modoc. Headed straight for the town's famous "Rose's Bed and Breakfast" to deliver a package. It's not what IS in the package that starts our adventure, but what isn't...

Welcome to, DARLING VS. THE WASTELAND!

Episode 1: "Modoc Lovin'"

* * *

*RING* the sound of the bell on the door rang as a short curly-blonde haired girl, covered in the dust of the desert trail, entered the esteemed "Rose's Bed and Breakfast." It was a quaint restaurant for such a major farming community. Though this was her first time coming to Modoc, she had heard about how within the last thirty-something years, this town transformed from a dreary and sleepy mountain community to a bustling farming town. She was glad she could finally visit. After gawking at the surroundings, a voice called out to Darling. A woman in her late twenties of average build walked out of the kitchen with piping hot food for eager customers.

"Well howdy to you, little missy! Welcome to my restaurant!" She shouted over before noticing the package and nodding, "Ah! It's finally here! I'll be wit'chu in a sec, hon! Why don't you take a seat over there, I'm sure you're tired." She gave a rushed smile Darling's way and headed her way after delivering the food.

Darling smiled, gave an informal salute and took a seat, "Thank you kindly, lady." She then took a seat a nearby booth.

After a minute or two of waiting, the woman joined Darling at the table. "Patient girl, aren't ya. Here..." she put down a tall glass of purified water in front of Darling to her surprise. "It's on me, cutie. I've heard rumors. The "Kid Courier" is what they call you. Didn't think it was true, but seeing as how you trekked the desert from Shady Sands to get here, seeing IS believing."

"Wow lady! You're seriously the nicest person ever!" She grasped the glass and began chugging the water which caused the woman across the table to giggle. She put down the glass and wiped her mouth, "Alright..." She took her bag out, got a folder full of mail out, and set it down. "This should be it. Ms. Daisy I presume? I thought your name would be Rose since this is your diner after all."

She smiled "This place was my Momma's place. Her boyfriend built this place just for her when they were young, and stupid." A glimpse of regret washed over her face before returning to delight. "But, yes, I'm Daisy. I never got your name, darling?"

Darling grinned as she continued to pour through the papers in her bag, "I'll give you a hint! You just said it."

"Ah! Well then Darling, nice to meet you." she extended her hand to which they shook, extending their greetings.

"Ah ha!" Darling proceeded to pull out some papers from her bag, "Now, this wouldn't be an NCR commissioned courier job without a SHIT ton of paper work, so before I can allow you to take the package, I'm gonna need you to sign here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, initials there, a full print signature here, and a final signature here."

"Done and done!" Daisy said as she signed off the last of many signatures, "Damn NCR and their bureaucracy..." Her face shifted as if recollecting something "Where are my manners! I bet you're wondering about your pay. Here you go." she then handed Darling a tied up sack of 125 bottle caps, "Now, I'm supposed to pay you with NCR dollars, but I don't think you mind, do you?" She gave a wink.

"No ma'am!" The two shared a laugh. Darling finished the water, "If that's all, I need to head to the Modoc Crimson Caravan branch to deliver some invoices."

"Okay deerie, just don't forget to stop by before you leave town. You haven't had any of my special Wasteland Curry yet!" Daisy grinned widely.

Darling exited the diner, smiling to herself. It was people like Daisy that made her job worthwhile. After making another 125 bottle caps off of the Crimson Caravan, she headed back towards Rose's Bed and Breakfast, ready to spend some caps on a hot meal.

* * *

As Darling walked in, she noticed Daisy at a booth with her head in her hands looking distraught. "Ms. Daisy, are you alright? Something's bothering you, isn't it?" She looks concerned.

Daisy looked down, avoiding eye contact, "I appreciate you delivering me my mail, but it seems like what I wanted wasn't in the package..." She looked up to see Darling's concerned face, "Oh no! It ain't your fault! It's... you see... I was hoping to get a letter from someone. A man, more specifically..." Daisy blushed fiercely.

Darling smiled deviously, "Oooohhh. Are you two close?"

Daisy was flustered, "Anyways! His name is Victor Barros. He use to live here in Modoc before moving off to a settlement far southwest of here called Oak Creek for work. We've been sending letters to each other for 2 years now, but all of the sudden, they stopped. And no! He's a good man, he wouldn't just stop all of the sudden. Something must be wrong." Daisy started to tear up. "What if raiders killed him or maybe radscorpions!" She began crying in a panic.

Darling put a hand on her shoulder, "Earth to Ms. Daisy! There's no proof of that. He could be fine!" She smiled, "Maybe there's just a lack of couriers in that area. If it's a small settlement, it probably doesn't have much traffic going through."

*sniffle* Daisy wiped her eyes, "You really think so?"

Darling stood confident, "I know so. If it'll make you feel better, I'll travel to Oak Creek myself and check up on him, how about that?" Darling smiled a toothy grin.

Daisy lit up, "YOU'D DO THAT FOR ME? THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" She jumped out of her seat to squeeze Darling.

Darling wheezed, "Sure... no problem!" *cough* After Daisy let go of her, she brushed herself off, "Go ahead and write him a letter for when I find him."

Daisy then jumped and scurried off to find a pen and paper. She handed Darling a letter, "Now, I'm trusting you not to read this... it's personal." she blushed.

"Oh, don't you worry. I'm a courier, remember? Confidentiality is part of the job!" Darling gave a thumbs up nonchalantly.

"What about pay? Don't tell me you're doing this for free, are you?"

"Well," Darling scratched the back of her head "This is off the books so anything you could throw my way would be appreciated, but I'm not going to ask for anything since I offered."

"I know just the thing!"

After purchasing ammo and supplies at local vendors and having a bowl of Wasteland Curry on the house, Darling retired for the night in a room at the bed and breakfast. She woke up early and headed out towards Oak Creek, which Daisy marked for her on her makeshift Pip-Boy 2000 personal handheld terminal. She checked her bag, noticing the packed food Daisy prepared for her and smiled. "It was nice meeting a worthwhile person for once" she said as she marched onward into the desert.

* * *

While traversing the blistering heat of the California desert, Darling kept a careful eye over her surroundings. At any moment, any and all manner of raiders or slaver scum could pounce and take away her life or free will. Being both young and female didn't make things easier. If the enemy was stronger, she'd be faster, and if they were smarter, well... she'd out-laser blast them with her signature weapons.

After a fortunate couple of days on the road and only around a klick away from Oak Creek, she noticed something troubling with her one good eye.

"What the hell?" A pillar of black smoke billowed out from the center of town and gunshots echoed throughout the area. Darling detached her modified pre-war riot helmet from her backpack and adorned it. It was your typical riot helm that the former Nevada desert rangers wore, but this one had a port for a micro-fusion cell on the back and a bandanna wrapped diagonally across the right eye, covering it completely. It also sported a couple of tribal like decorations such as a few beads and feathers.

After pressing a series of switches on the back, the left eye lit up in a shade of crimson, opening and closing the shutters as if it was following Darling's own eye movements. The eye squinted and zoomed her vision like scope.

Darling's fists tightened in anger, "Raiders!" She zoomed in further only to see the town not faring well against the onslaught. "and they don't look like they can hold out much longer! Damn!"

Without a moments delay, she drew her laser pistols and darted off at a break-neck pace towards Oak Creek. Worried that Victor Barros, the man she'd been sent after, could possibly be a victim in the conflict she was about to jump head-first into.

* * *

See you next time for episode 2 of DARLING VS. THE WASTELAND: "Where the HELL is Victor Barros?!"


	2. Where the HELL is Victor Barros?

The adventure continues as Darling, our young courier, reached the outskirts of Oak Creek!

Daisy, the friendly owner of Rose's Bed and Breakfast in Modoc, after her lack of contact with her love Victor Barros, began to worry for his well-being. Darling offered to remedy her concerns by personally delivering a message to him in Oak Creek, which Daisy accepted with glee. After crossing the scorching blazes of the Mid California desert, Darling found trouble! A pillar of smoke billowed from the center of town while raiders besieged the remaining law enforcement. Will she find Victor Barros or his corpse? Or... Will she find him at all?

Welcome to, DARLING VS. THE WASTELAND!

Episode 2: "Where the HELL is Victor Barros?!"

* * *

The sounds of gunfire grew ever closer as Darling dashed towards the battle being waged in the town of Oak Creek. As she closed the distance to down, she noticed two guards holding their own in the streets with a substancial lack of cover.

"WE CAN'T HOLD'EM FOR MUCH LONGER, SIR!" One of the armored town guards shouted over the haze of suppressing gunfire. "WE NEED TO RETRE..." As the guard shouted, a bullet pierced his right shoulder, sending him to the ground in in crippling pain.

"JACKSON!" The armed man next to him exclaimed in horror. He crouched down and began to pull his wounded comrade into a somewhat covered space. "Stay with me, Brother! We can win this!"

"Sir... I don't know if I..." The man passed out, sending the other into a panic.

"NO! NO! NO! I can't die like this!" After seemingly losing all hope, the fear filled man jumped out with tears streaming down his face, pumping bullets wildly in the direction of the raiders with a cry of desperation.

One such bullet whizzed by Darling as she entered the battle. "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE AIMING THAT THING! I'm on your side for fuck's sake!"

"Huh?!" The desperate guard looked over towards Darling. Her voice broke the man's concentration for a mere second, opening him up for a counter attack by the raiders. Bullets rained down upon him, puncturing his left calf, sending him on one knee in pain. Through the mighty and awesome powers of adrenaline, he ignored most of the pain and returned fire.

Darling took cover, taking a moment to look through her bandolier. She pulled out 3 of her homemade smoke grenades, "These'll even the odds!" She smirked. She jumped over the cover, pulled the pins, and threw them in the direction of the raiders. She considered using one of her last remaining plasma grenades, but not only are those rare, but she feared the blast would reach some of the fallen town guards that were clinging to life. She then pushed a knob on her helmet, "Activating thermal vision."

As the smoke billowed, the enraged guard ceased shooting, fearful of what was happening.

"What the *cough* *cough* fuck is going on here, Boss?!" A raider coughed harshly as he breathed in the smoke. "This shit wasn't part of the plan!" As the shout left his vocal chords, a torrent of red laser fire pierced his body, leaving several searing holes. A moment passed before he collapsed dead.

While the smoke was up, Darling circled the raiders, using her thermal vision to spot the raiders, picking them off. One by one, each raider surrounding the boss was cut down by laser fire from a different position as if surrounded.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" The boss shouted. "I don't know who or what the FUCK you are, but you're dead!" Rage filled the raider boss as he picked up his fallen subordinates assault rifle and began firing wildly and blindly into the smoke with an automatic rifle in each hand.

Darling snuck up behind the raider boss and pressed her laser pistol against the back of his head. He looked over his shoulder, only seeing an energy weapon and the menacing red glow from her visor. That red glow, however, was the last thing he saw, as a beam of red light pierced his skull, leaving a smoldering hole through his face. With a mighty *THUD* the raider boss collapsed onto the desert floor, face buried in the hot sand.

"What in the good god is going on?" From the guards point of view, he just witnessed the wrath of god for all he knew. Smoke and red death within. All he knew was what he saw... death.

As the smoke cleared, a lone figure approached the lawman.

The guard dropped his gun, "I don't know who the hell you are, but you're a godsend. Thank god the NCR finally sent us some help! We've been sending letters for months requesting help!" The man dropped to the floor, the adrenaline that was numbing the pain began wearing off.

Darling approached, "Glad to help, but I'm not here on any NCR business. I'm here to find someone, but that looks like it'll need to wait. We need to get you and your men some help." Darling took off her helmet and whipped her curly blonde hair back and forth.

The guard's eyes widened at her appearance, "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me... You're just a kid! How the hell'd a kid like you learn to kill like that?!"

Darling face palmed. "Well that's a fine how-do-you-do! Maybe you should try, I don't know, 'Thanks for saving my sorry ass next time!" She gave a defeated sighed "Anyways, who's the head law guy around here? I know it's not you. From the look of things, you barely know how to shoot."

The man grumbled. "If you're looking for Sheriff Maxwell, he's over there." The man pointed over to a corpse that was riddled with bullet holes and shrapnel. "The damn Sand Vipers blew open the gate and killed'em in the process. I'm the town Deputy, so I guess I'm Sheriff now." He looked aggravated at the thought of his newfound responsibilities. "The name's Campbell, Fletcher Campbell. Apparently, now Sheriff Campbell. Damn father! Curse him for making me take this job! I'll get him for this!"

Darling rolled her eyes hearing the man's tangent, "Anyways, they're gone now and..." She stopped herself as she noticed the towns people opening their doors, checking to see if they were safe.

When they saw it was clear, some of the townsfolk rushed out of their homes towards the injured guards, carrying them to the town doctor. Surprisingly, no one came for their new Sheriff.

Darling noticed the lack of concern for Fletcher Campbell, "You don't seem to be very popular here."

Campbell winced in pain, "Damn peasants. My father is a wealthy man and a Senator in the Republic. These assholes hate me out of jealousy! They want our..."

"I get it already!" Darling interrupted the newly made Sheriff's rant and held out a hand. "Let's just get you to the doctor before I blow my own brains out..."

Campbell begrudgingly took Darling's helping hand, "Hey, you're not trained in the way of medicine are you? The doctor especially hates me, for some reason."

Darling put the man's arm over her shoulder for support. "Yeaaah... no. I don't know the first thing about medicine. I can hack, repair, or disassemble a protectron in minutes, but a person? No way. Funny story actually! A while back, someone asked me how to turn a Protectron into a sexbot. Turns out, the hardware is already there, they just..." Darling felt the weight on her shoulder greatly increase. She looked over only to notice that Campbell had passed out from his wound. Darling sighed, "Geez... What a bitch... and I was just getting to the good part of the story!"

* * *

After a couple minutes of following the locals, Darling left Campbell in the care of the town's medical professional. She decided to hit up the local saloon in search for information on Victor Barros since she forgot to mention anything in the heat of the moment. As she walked through the streets, the locals, even though saved by Darling's efforts, looked nervous seeing a stranger who's particularly armed-to-the-teeth. Especially one who just slaughtered the group of so called "Sand Vipers" with little effort. Darling understood, since for all they knew, she could be working with the raiders. She took their trepidation in stride and continued down the sandy road.

Before Darling entered the saloon, she heard arguing come from within it's walls. She peeked through the window, listening in on the heated debate.

A woman appearing to be in her late fifties slammed her fists on the counter of the bar. "Dammit Arny! This is the last straw! We CANNOT continue to live like this! This is the third raid this month! Our poor grandson might lose his leg because of those god damn raiders and it's all our fault for staying in this god forsaken town!" She began to cry, "This fucking town is cursed!"

The man across the bar ten, who she assumed was Arny, tensed up. He was a similarly aged man with a stern look on his face. "Dammit woman! I told you once, and I'll tell you one hundred times. I'm not letting raiders scare us away!" He saw his wife cry and regretted his aggression, "Cherry, I know how you feel. We've been through a lot since we left Sac-Town, but you've gotta stay strong! Please!" He embraced his wife, hoping to comfort her. "At least those scumbags got put down by that newcomer."

Cherry smiled as she wiped the tears from her eyes, "We aught to thank that youngster for helping us and that useless good-for-nothing Campbell out.

Darling took that as her cue and entered the saloon, causing the two doors to flap back and forth.

The husband and wife ended their embrace. Arny smiled, "Well speak of the devil! If it ain't the town savior!"

Darling scratched the back of her head while she approached the bar, taking the praise, "It was nothing. Anyone could've done what I did! Hehe..."

"Oh don't be silly, young lady! We saw the whole thing!" The wife praised, "You may not know this, but our grandson is a town guard who's life you saved because of your actions today." The woman reached below the counter and pulled out a stack of NCR dollars. Roughly twenty-five $20 bills. She handed the money over to Darling, "I know you'd prefer caps, but please take this as a way of us saying thanks."

Darlings eyes widened in surprise, "Are you sure about this? That's a lot of money and I just did what any sensible person would've!" Darling knew that, after conversion, she was basically just handed around 200 caps.

The husband spoke up, "You've done more for this town than the damn Mayor has since he took over the place! I'd say you've more than earned it." The man realized something, "Ah! Where are our manners? My name is Arnold Carson, and this is my wife, Cherry Carson. This here saloon is our pride and joy. We've been here in Oak Creek before the wealthy brahmin herders moved in."

Darling smiled and pocketed the cash, "People call me Darling." She extended her greetings with a handshake, "It's a pleasure to meet you!" They each shook hands.

"So, Darling, what brings you to Oak Creek?" Cherry asked.

Darling's focus returned, "RIGHT! I'm here searching for someone. I actually came down to this saloon to find some answers."

"Well, we'll do our best to help! We owe you that much!" The couple nodded.

Darling smiled at their generosity. "I'm looking for a man who goes by the name 'Victor Barros.' I'm a courier by trade and was recently in Modoc delivering invoices and other packages. A kind woman asked me to find Victor and to see if he's okay. She told me that he moved out here for work."

The couple lit up at the mention of Victor. "Well it's about time Little Vic found a girl! He was so hopeless, Hahaha!"

"So you know him?! Great! Where is he so I can deliver the message?" Darling stared hopefully.

With that question, the mood shifted towards the sullen.

Darling's gave a concerned expression. "He's not dead, is he?"

The wife waved her hands, "Oh no! Not that! It's just..." She leaned in, "Around 5 months back, we were having similar issues with raiders, which caused all of the farmers to leave. After that, a bunch of Brahmin herders moved in and claimed the land."

Darling looked curious, "I can't believe you stayed. I would've ditched this place. You and your family are mighty brave!"

Cherry smiled, "That's kind of you to say, but weirdly enough, the raiders never bothered us. They only threatened the farm owners and their workers. I think 2 years ago, we met a young Victor in Modoc and offered him a job with us, so he worked for us for a time as a server. After the Mayor and Brahmin Barons got set up here in town and set up the guard, Victor came to me, saying he 'Found out something big and couldn't stay in Oak Creek any longer!' Unfortunately, he never told me what. He left town shortly after."

"Are you saying Victor isn't in Oak Creek anymore? If he's not here, then where is he? Darling was surprised by the news.

"New Reno." Arny said bluntly

Darlings slammed her face down on the bar counter. "God!... Fucking!... Dammit!" Her shout was muffled by the counter. "Of all place, why did it have to be there?!"

"What's wrong, sweetie? Cherry asked, curious as to Darling's reaction.

"Let's just say, the last time I was there... It didn't end well... for anyone... or anything..."

* * *

Why does Darling hate New Reno so much? Is Victor Barros alright? What did he learn that made him leave Oak Creek and Why, of all places in the Wasteland, did he chose to move to New Reno?! Just who are the "Sand Vipers" and what is their deal with Oak Creek?

Find out as the adventure continues in episode 3 of DARLING VS. THE WASTELAND: "Inside the Viper's Den!"


	3. Into the Viper's Den!

When we last left off, Darling, our young courier, found the possible whereabouts of Victor Barros.

After helping the law of Oak Creek fend off a group of raiders known as the "Sand Vipers" and getting to know the towns new incompetent Sheriff, the not-so-popular Fletcher Campbell, she made her way to the town saloon to continue her search. Much to her dismay, she found out that he moved to New Reno, a den of vice and chaos the like of which is hard to match. A city that Darling had history with and wanted to avoid as much as possible... What's troubled Darling was that Victor only left because he found something big... Something damning... Is Oak Creek hiding something behind a quaint and scenic facade? Just who are the Sand Vipers and just what is their deal with Oak Creek? How is the Mayor of town going to deal with them?

Welcome to, DARLING VS. THE WASTELAND!

Episode 3: "Inside the Viper's Den!"

* * *

After finishing up a nice chat with the Carson family, Darling decided to leave the saloon and head to the infirmary to speak with the new appointed Sheriff Campbell to see how his injuries were, even though they were minor bullet wounds.

She didn't have that high of an opinion of the man, but she could've sworn she heard him say "Brother" to the man who was shot next to him as she entered the battle. Maybe he cared for his men? Maybe he couldn't give two shits and just pretended to care for the sake of reputation. Maybe that was his actual brother? Either way, he was the new head lawman in town and she wanted to make sure that the townsfolk were going to be in good hands.

While on the way to the infirmary, a man stopped her. He was a tall man dressed in what seemed to be a pristine black suit with an open collar. He had a shiny new 10mm submachine gun holstered at his hip. "Ma'am, are you by chance the person who aided our lawmen in defending Oak Creek today?" He spoke in a borderline monotone voice.

Darling nodded and raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "Maybe. Depends on your definition of aid." She said with a glint of arrogance.

The man's expression remained unmoved. "Great." He spoke as if enthusiasm was a foreign concept to him. "I've been instructed to escort you to see the mayor at once. It's of great importance that we leave as soon as possible."

The fact that she was to be "escorted" made Darling smirk. "Oh? and why couldn't his majesty come see me himself?"

"Will you allow me to escort you, or not?" The well dressed man showed a hint of aggravation.

Darling gave a short giggle. "Relax, I'm only messing with you." She noticed his unchanged expression. "Lead the way..." she sighed at the lack of reaction.

* * *

After following the man for a few minutes in awkward silence, they entered the mayors house which, unsurprisingly, was gaudy and the largest in town.

As they approached the house, two guards at the entrance approached Darling. "Halt! Other than guards, there are to be no armed personnel entering the Mayor's residence at any time. Please hand over any and all weapons you are currently possess. Once you exit the premises, they will be returned to you."

Darling's eye twitched as she directed her gaze at the man escorting her, "You never said anything about handing over my guns!"

The man met Darling's gaze with his own, "Though, regretfully, I neglected to inform you, I assumed you understood. This was my mistake." Whether out of duty or out of honor, he bowed, "I ask your forgiveness and politely ask you to comply even after my blunder."

Darling's eyes widened "_Ehh?! This guy's way too polite!_" she thought. Darling put her hand to her mouth, clearing her throat *cough* *cough* "Well, I guess if you're sorry about it..." She tried to act composed, but mostly failed. "Very well... I'll disarm." She handed the guards her two exotic looking laser pistols and her scoped laser rifle as well as any grenades she had in her bandolier.

After confirming that she was clean, the guards opened the gate and ushered her and the escort in. As they entered the mansion, Darling watched as servants walked in and out of rooms with all manner of haste. Some were carrying laundry while others were guards brandishing 10mm submachine guns. After she noticed the weapon, she put two and two together, confirming that the man who escorted her was indeed a hired guard. Though, he seemed like a cut above the other guards she noticed while following the man through the lavish interior.

As they got closer and closer to the Mayor's office, she noticed something extremely peculiar. Ceiling mounted turrets! Judging by the state the town he runs is in, he's siphoning caps for his own personal defense rather than the people's. Darling's gut told her that she would not enjoy her chat with the mayor.

As they approached the door to the Mayor's office, the escort stopped, "This is as far as I go. The Mayor is in the room through that door. Have a nice evening."

Before Darling could reply, he walked away, back to what she assumed was his guarding duties. Instead of dwelling on it, she looked forward and entered the room past the guards. Before her was a rotund man, with the stench of corruption lingering in the air around him. He looked to be in his late forties even though he was heavily balding. He almost reminded Darling of the portrait of one of the old world presidents. One she saw while searching through the terminal archives of an abandoned vault she found in northern Nevada. The one they called "Taft."

The mayor hears the door open and close. He notices Darling, "Hmm?.. Curious thing, aren't you. Why don't you take a seat my dear." His appearance fits his somewhat deep voice. He claps twice, and a woman enters the room with a pot, steaming from the top. "Darling, would you like a cup of tea?"

Darling looked surprised as she took her seat. He knew her name was a common term, but the way he said it made it seem like he was using it as a proper noun. "S-sure? What I want to know is, how'd you know my name?"

The mayor smiled, "My dear, I have connections everywhere, especially in the New California Republic. Not to mention you're quite the infamous character according to some accounts. Especially with that stunt you pulled in New Reno." A cup of tea was set in front of him to which he picked up and sipped, "Ah, but we're not here to talk about you and your affiliation with the NCR are we."

"I don't know? You're the one who called me here. Remember?" Darling replied with a hint of sass.

She picked up the tea, smelling it before taking a sip. It was a simple and uninteresting blend of herbs. She'd been working on her skill identifying and harvesting plants over the past few months, so she could taste a few of the ingredients. One of which was Broc Flower. The others, she still couldn't identify. She definitely had a long way to go.

"That I did, my dear. That I did." He sipped his tea again. "Do you know how I became the mayor of this town? Oh who am I kidding. Of course you don't. First off, my name is William Leviticus Bradley, the first of my name. By the time I was twelve I had already..."

Within mere seconds, Darlings mind wandered from the mayors self-praise session to the beautiful decor of the room she occupied. As much as she didn't want to admit it, it made the feminine side she so vehemently repressed come out for a second. As she continued to admire, suddenly..

"Darling, are you paying attention?"

Darling snapped back into focus, "YES! Absolutely, sir! I'm just savoring the tea! Mmmhmm!" She nodded her head vigorously in embarrassment.

"Wonderful!" He cleared his throat, "Where was I?... Ah! Of course! Little over five months ago, I discovered this plot of land and purchased it from the NCR. It turns out that raiders drove away the original residents of Oak Creek. I said 'Why let good land go to waste!' Do you know what I mean?"

Darling contemplated his story for a moment and realized something off. "What about the saloon owners? They said they were here before you arrived?"

The mayor chuckled, "Ah yes! them..." He looked aggravated for a brief moment and went back to his pompous self. "Those lovely, and brave, people are our most valued citizens! We'd definitely be worse for ware with out them!" He dodged the question altogether.

She noticed how he dodged the question, but rather than act on her gut reaction, she decided to overlook it. "Interesting..." She said, rubbing her chin.

The mayor pulled out a piece of paper from his desk, "Right, now that all the pleasantries are aside, let's talk business. I want you to take care of some business for me."

Darling figured this is what the mayor wanted all along. "And by business, I'm betting you're meaning the Sand Vipers?"

"Clever AND a good listener! My dear, I do believe you'll go far in life." The mayor gave a hearty laugh.

Darling gave a haphazard smile and a shaky thumbs up, "_Hehe... I can't believe this asshole thinks I actually listened to his story!_" She thought to herself. "So, you want me to finish'em off, is that it? Question. Why hire 'Little ole' me' when you could have your new sheriff handle it?"

The mayor borderline burst out laughing, "Oh you've got to be kidding me! That man is an incompetent buffoon! The only reason I hired Fletcher was because of the political benefits of having an NCR senator's son as a deputy. His father sent him out here as punishment for some reason and he requested that I make him the town sheriff and in return, I'd get special access to a senator. I said deputy and we shook on it." He took another sip of tea, "You are right though, the job would be to track that band of miscreants down and put them out of my misery. The previous residents of this town might have fled from their poor excuse for intimidation, but I certainly WILL NOT!" He slammed his fist on the desk.

"How much does the job pay? Work like this doesn't come cheap ya' know." Darling sat up in her chair in anticipation for his answer.

Mayor Bradley handed Darling a piece of paper. It was the contract for the job she would undertake. It read:

**_I, Mayor William Leviticus Bradley of the fine town of Oak Creek in the proud lands of the New California Republic require the hunt and extermination of the raider gang known as the "Sand Vipers."_**

**_To any whom this may concern, this job is officially sanctioned by the New California Republic and therefore, a legal bounty._**

**_Paid in the amount of $2,500 in NCR currency. Half up front, and the remaining half upon receiving the head of the Gang Leader, King Cobra, for verification._**

**_God Bless Oak Creek, and God Bless the New California Republic_**

Darling's eyes widened dramatically as the read the pay. She did the math in her head and 2,500 NCR dollars roughly equated to one thousand bottle caps! She put the contract on the desk, "Mister Mayor, you've almost got yourself a deal."

The mayor cocked his head to the side, "Oh? Is the pay not to your liking?"

"Nah, the pay's great, but I'd rather be payed in bottle caps. I'll sign whatever contract you need right now if you can promise me caps instead of paper."

"Ah! I don't think that'll be much of an issue. Consider your request granted. I'll have your caps ready here in a moment." He said enthusiastically. "Now, after we're done here, I recommend talking with Campbell. As much as I'd hate to admit it, he's smarter than most around in town. He was also around the Sheriff all the time, so he might know where the Sand Vipers are." The two stood up and shook on the deal. "Also, for helping my town today, I'd like to extend an invitation to stay here in my manor tonight to rest and prepare for your journey."

"Sure, sounds great!" Darling smiled and nodded regretfully. She thought to herself "_Ehhh... Talking with him was bad enough, now I've got to be in the same building with'em for more than an hour. What was I thinking!?_"

"Glorious! I'll have my staff send the caps to your room then." The mayor finished his tea, "Now, I do believe you have some business to attend to. I'll let you see yourself out now."

She looked down and noticed that she barely drank any of her tea. After uncouthly chugging the petite cup of tea, she said her farewell as fast as humanly possible. As she exited the mayor's office, she felt relief that she no longer had to be in his presence. Though she couldn't deny that she was getting treated oddly well. Maybe too well... Once she was rearmed upon leaving the manor, she headed towards the infirmary.

She realized that she had a task already, but the town needed help and she needed the caps. Victor Barros could wait a couple of days.

* * *

As Darling entered the infirmary, she noticed just how many of the town guards were injured in the battle. It made her wonder if it was a good idea to accept the contract. These Sand Vipers meant business. They seemed tactically sound, and extensively trained in longarm combat, which explained all of the injured town guards surrounding her, not to mention the ones killed in action. There were people bandaged from head to toe, people with casts, and people with missing arms and legs. Though, the one she noticed was the lucky one. Over in the corner was Fletcher Campbell getting treated by a nurse and it looked like he was shouting at her.

"I swear if you don't get me that fat fucking bastard mayor down here this instant, I'll have my father!..." the new sheriff stopped as he noticed Darling enter the room. "Ah! An actually useful person around here."

Darling approached him, "Wow, you're an even bigger asshole than I originally thought! I'm impressed!" She laughed.

Campbell growled, "Ha Ha HA! If I wasn't gravely injured right now, I'd.."

"Are you SERIOUS!" Darling waved her hand around, pointing to the several disfigured guard members, "Take a good long look around you. These people are gravely injured, maybe worse. Not you! So quit your whining you big baby! I've got questions for you."

"You... you're right..." Campbell looked away from Darlings piercing gaze. "What questions did you have? Wait.. You just got done talking to that pompous old prick didn't you? I can practically smell the lard from a mile away. He hired you to take care of those bastards, didn't he!"

Darling raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, and?"

"Well..." He met Darling's eyes, "I bet he forgot to mention that we've sent over a dozen trained guards to their death trying to take them down. Actually, now that I think about it, one did survive and returned here."

Darling face palmed, "Great! At least I know what I'm walking into... Wait! Did you say that someone survived?"

Campbell nodded, "Yeah, he even talked with our last sheriff before he took off. I don't blame the man. I'd do the same in his shoes, even without the near-death experience."

Darling rubbed her chin, "They didn't happen to have a journal or any written diary that would confirm the location of the main Sand Viper stronghold, did they?"

Campbell nodded once more, "Sure did, the sheriff made it proper protocol to record almost everything. I guess that'll be real convenient for you, huh? I guess I can be useful after all." He handed Darling a key-card, "This'll give you access to the backroom of the Sheriff's ehh... my office. Hope it helps... Now, if you don't mind, I'm going back to fantasizing about being anywhere BUT HERE!"

Darling said her goodbyes to the Campbell and headed for the Sheriff's office. The sun was beginning to set a beautiful shade of orange. It made her think of a song she heard on the radio about an "Orange Colored Sky." She entered the office and into the back room without any resistance and accessed the terminal.

All the information and more was stored on the terminal, starting with the research on the Sand Vipers. From their understanding, the Sand Vipers originated as a group, simply known as the "Viper Gang." They raided the wastes in the mid twenty-second century, around the time the legendary hero from Vault 13 saved the world from the Master's Super Mutant army. The Viper Gang were not just any average raider gang however. They were a religious cult who worshiped serpents. The archive goes on and on about their former customs. She found that the original Viper Gang was long gone and no longer in NCR territory. They moved out east in Nevada several years prior. It seems like the Sand Vipers broke off from that group that fled. They not only broke off from the original group, but shed their religious beliefs as well. They seem average raiders on the surface, but have been noted to be more tribal and prefer spears and poison over rifles. Darling had a hard time believing that after seeing the group attacking Oak Creek. They seemed more like soldiers than tribals. Maybe another group broke off from them? She then found the survivor's statements. He claimed that the stronghold is around 12 kilometers north of Oak Creek, in a relatively mountainous area.

After leaving the Sheriff's office, Darling took a relaxing stroll around the town while smoking a cigar, noticing how peaceful it is. It gave her an even greater resolve to help the town end it's raider threat.

* * *

Darling eventually retired for the night in her lavish chambers at the Mayor's manor. It was still way to ostentatious, but the bed she slept on felt like a cloud. She was out in a matter of minutes.

As her consciousness faded, she smelt something... it was dry... putrid... she opened her eye and the room around her was ensnared by a raging inferno.

The walls around her came crashing down and through the smoke and heat, two demonic eyes opened up followed by a wide grin, **"_What you see now... You caused this, kid..._"** The voice was deep. **"_Eventually you'll learn, that you belong to ME!_"** The eyes opened wider then disappeared, leaving the smile which also then disappeared.

The flames parted, only to show... two figures. A man and a woman, both tied to wooden poles with fire creeping up their bodies. They cried in pain as the flames engulfed their very beings, "_WHY?! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO US?!_" The feminine figure shouted in agony.

The male figure began crumbling to ash from the feet up, "_YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A FAILURE TO US AND YOUR TRIBE! YOU KILLED US! DID WE MEAN NOTHING TO YOU?!_"

The flames closed and Darling felt almost as if she was falling down a cliff, where she was met with a flood of water that came crashing down, filling the room and drowning Darling. As she felt the stinging pain of her lungs being filled with water, she jumped back to consciousness. She gasped for air in a cold sweat, tears streaming down her left eye, and her lip quivering out of fear. "_It's been a while since I've had that nightmare..._" After a few deep breathes, she calmed herself and laid back down, "Never again..." She eventually fell back to sleep.

* * *

Darling chose to start her journey early. By around noon, she found herself in the vicinity of the stronghold according to the directions given by the survivor's account.

Darling pulled out her canteen of water and took a swig. "If the info's correct, I should see the stronghold any minute here."

As she put away her canteen, she noticed the ground beneath her start to shake, "Oh no..." She jumped out of the way just as a giant radscorpion emerged. Before it could act, Darling quickdrew her laser pistols with a flourish and hip fired, riddling the scorpion with laser fire. She wiped her forehead, "That was too close..."

"HEY! WHAT WAS THAT?" Darling heard a voice in the distance

"Shit..." She whispered to herself. She ducked for cover behind a couple of sizable rocks. In situations like these, her small frame came in handy. She waited a couple of seconds before three figures appeared wearing thick goggles and heavy rags and scarves wrapped all over their bodies. Their appearance matched the survivor's description. These were Sand Viper members. Possible scouts for the main den.

One of the ragged figures walked up to inspect the giant radscorpion corpse, but as soon as he approached, three more radscorpions jumped out at them. One of the members was knocked to the ground and ripped to shreds by pincers, while the other two dispatched theirs. They eventually killed them, but noticed their fallen comrade. They looted his corpse. Luckily for Darling, they neglected to check the one she killed again.

She took this a prime opportunity to strike. She put her riot helmet on and jumped down, aiming her laser pistols at each one, "Put your weapons down or die!" They were holding well-crafted spears.

They both turned around. One of them turned around and simply charged her. "Wrong answer!" she said as she casually ended the aggressor without even glancing in his direction. His body made a thud as it crashed to the ground. "Put the spear down already!" She demanded.

The raider put the spear down, "Why are you doing this? What'd we ever do to you?!"

Darling holstered one of her laser pistols, "It's not what you did to me, it's what you're doing to Oak Creek. You and your little gang have quite the price on your heads. Not to mention killing raiders is a hobby of mine. I would say nothing personal, but, ya' know, it kinda is."

This shocked the raider, "Oak Creek?! What?! We ain't been there ever! I swear it! I don't even know where that is!"

Darling didn't believe a word he said, "Yeah, yeah! I've heard it all before. Tell you what. You take me to your stronghold or base or whatever the hell you call it, and I might let you walk away. Sound good?"

He looked terrified. He nodded vigorously, "Y-y-yeah! Sure! Just don't shoot me, okay?!"

The two traveled, with Darling closely watching her prisoner's every move. After around thirty or so minutes of climbing and walking, the raider points down, revealing the stronghold

"See, there's home base, now can I *BASH*" As the raider pleaded, Darling bashed the back of his head with the butt of her scoped laser rifle.

Setting up a perfect vantage point around two-hundred meters away was easy enough. There weren't that many interiors to the camp, so after using the thermal vision on her helmet, she spotted something peculiar.

As she zeroed in her sights, "Hmm?... Only seven people? I figured there'd be more..." She focused the laser optics on the side of the rifle, increasing power "I guess that means I can save ammo." She smirked under her helmet.

"Let's get started!"

Darling let loose three shots, killing an isolated group. At the distance she was at, the laser fire wouldn't be heard by the Sand Vipers, so she could continue to operate covertly. Unfortunately for her, she fired at another one and missed, sending the stronghold on alert. Many more began pouring out of the huts. Huts that Darling didn't see due to them being extremely well camouflaged. Instead of only seven, there were over 20. Still, Darling kept firing, taking four more out, sending them crashing to the ground with smoldering wounds. She picked up her laser rifle and bolted before they found her. She found a new spot where the ones attempting to find her old spot were clearly visible. She picked off those laser after laser.

Finally, the raiders discovered her position and began throwing spears and shooting arrows in her direction.

Darling looked through her bandolier, "Well..." She pulled out the plasma grenade she contemplated using back in Oak Creek, "Looks like it's your time to shine, little buddy!" She bolted, closing the distance to the camp. She chucked the grenade at a cluster, melting them all into piles of goo.

She entered the center of the camp, "SHOW YOURSELF, KING COBRA!" She looked behind her, and noticed a tall, muscular man, holding a sword. The sword looked like something an old world samurai would wield, but this one was ornate with a golden snake on the hilt.

King Cobra unsheathed the katana, "I will avenge my brothers and sisters you murderer!"

Darling started to laugh, "That's rich coming from a raider! Your brothers and sisters would still be alive if you hadn't attacked Oak Creek like you did!"

The raider boss' head tilted, "Oak Creek? No one from my tribe has been there, you're a liar as well as a murderer!"

Darling aimed her laser rifle, "Right back at you!" She fired a shot at him, but his speed was like nothing she had ever seen

After only a second, he bridged the distance, slicing down with his weapon. Darling used her rifle to block the hit, which it did, but what was one single weapon was now a ruined energy weapon in two pieces.

Rage filled Darlings eyes, "OH YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD!" She pulled out both laser pistols and began rapid firing in his direction. To Darling's surprise, he managed to deflect a laser, but there were too many and he was gunned down.

She quickly ran over to his body. She picked up the sword and it's sheath, "You break my weapon, I'll take yours!" She wrapped a belt around it and holstered the sheath on her back. She would need the sword to complete her mission. After a clean slash, King Cobra's head was put in a canvas bag and over her shoulder. She searched the camp for anything useful and managed to find around 300 caps and a few stimpacks as well as some other drugs like med-x.

Darling returned to Oak Creek by early afternoon and received payment from one of the manor guards along with a personal thank you from Mayor Bradley. A man whom she'd be glad to never see again. With a thanks and a handshake, her business with Oak Creek was concluded. And just like that, the courier who saved the small town left for the scum-pit of debauchery and sin known as New Reno. An eventual reckoning she dreaded..

* * *

Why is Darling nervous about New Reno? What is Oak Creek hiding and what did Victor Barros find to make him leave? Why do the Sand Vipers continue to deny any involvement in Oak Creek?

Stick around on the adventure for episode 4 of DARLING VS. THE WASTELAND: "New Reno, Old Rivals."


	4. New Reno, Old Rivals

At the conclusion of last weeks episode, Darling, our young courier, began the arduous journey towards New Reno after wrapping up her business in Oak Creek!

After concluding her interactions with the Carson family, Darling was called to talk business with the mayor of Oak Creek. After a conversation she would describe as "Suicidally boring," she was offered a bounty hunting contract. The Mayor wanted Darling to wipe out the Sand Vipers as well as retrieve the head of their leader, King Cobra. After a nights rest, she began her mission. She managed to ambush a group, leaving one survivor, who led her to their stronghold. After killing off the grunts and coming out on top in her duel with the cheesily named leader, she headed back to town, collected payment, and left for New Reno. One thing that kept her mind uneasy was the fact that none of the Sand Vipers she had any contact with knew anything about Oak Creek and denied any involvement in raiding the town, including their leader. Just what has Darling gotten herself into? Whatever it was, she planned to find out in New Reno...

Welcome to, DARLING VS. THE WASTELAND

Episode 4: "New Reno, Old Rivals."

* * *

Night had fallen over the Californian desert.

After trekking kilometers among the sand and tumbleweeds, Darling saw the gleam of lights in the night sky and heard the echoes of loud music in the cold air off in the far distance. New Reno's nightlife was as bustling as ever. Criers advertised their respective casinos, all manner of prostitution infested the streets, and junkies got their high off of the town's own original drug, jet.

New Reno was a town trying to cling to pre-war luxury while keeping the anarchic wastelandic ideals. Power, caps, and more power. Got those and you're in it to win it in New Reno. That's why the Wright Family have had such a big presence. A year ago, a younger and more curious Darling stumbled into town. She learned back then the hard truth about being a naive young girl in a town run by debauchery. A memory she'd like to forget.

Instead of turning around and heading the other direction like her gut suggested, she decided to continue into town. She considered putting on her riot helmet to conceal her identity, but she considered the possibility that it could make her stand out even more, so she didn't.

"_Now, where should I start?.._" she thought as she walked through the crime ridden streets. "_Maybe I'll ask a local._"

Darling walked up to a random stranger, "Hey, are you from around here.."

As she spoke, the stranger, who looked to be a young man not much older than her but in much worse shape, turned around and held her by the shoulders, "What do you want?! Wait? Got any jet on you?! Please say yes! Please! Please! Please!" He looked as though he was just short of beaten to death.

Darling resisted, but failed to escape his grasp. "Like hell I do! Look, I just have a few questions. After that, you can do whatever the fuck you want!"

The beaten man grinned and let go of her, "I'll answer anything, but it'll cost you! Fifty caps." He looked as if his jet itch was going to get scratched soon.

Darling scowled, "Look, I'm not in the business of fueling someone's drug addiction, I'll just ask someone else." As she walked past the junkie, he put an aggressive hand on her shoulder in an attempt to stop her progress.

The junkie looked infuriated, "Like hell you walk away from me, you runt!" He began pulling a small blade out from one of his back pockets.

Before the drug addict could react, a laser beam went out of his back. Darling withdrew her laser pistol from his chest and sheathed it. Without saying a word, Darling continued down the street. She wasn't surprised at the street goers lack of reaction when the mans body collapsed onto the road. In New Reno, people are shot and killed in the streets on a daily basis. You're just taught to look the other way. Unfortunately for Darling, this brought some unwanted eyes looking in her direction.

She continued to look over the street goers. She noticed a group of thugs beating up a drifter, "_My god! What does the Republic even do here? Law and order, my ass! They just sit back and collect taxes..._" As she was thinking, she bumped into a person.

Before her was a tall ghoul wearing thick goggles and bandages. He wore a canvas like poncho with a neck guard. Underneath were pouches for cigarettes and two bandoliers filled to the brim with .308 rounds - the size of bullet perfect for sniper rifle slinged over his right shoulder. On his hip, was a scoped revolver. A strange feature of his aesthetic were his wooden sandals that adorned his feet, which showed the bandages that wrapped his feet.

The ghoul looked down, "My, my... If it isn't our most resourceful leader." He said in a soft ghoulish monotone-like voice.

Darling's eyes widened. "NO WAY! J. Jay?! Long time no see man!" She looked him over, "Hey wait! Didn't I tell you not to call me leader!"

J. Jay gave an emotionless smile, "It was you who formed the Courier's Alliance in the first place, am I wrong? And if my memory serves me right, I asked you to call me 'Hunter.' Quite hypocritical of you, I must say..." He continued.

Darling slouched and sighed as he continued, "_Jesus... It's been a year and a half and J. Jay Hunter is still just as weird as the day we met... pre-war ghouls for ya..._" She stopped his speech, "Okay, okay... I get it! First, I think you're forgetting that I wasn't the only one who formed our group! Second, we all agreed that there wouldn't be a leader!" Darling stopped herself this time, "But enough about that, what are you doing in New Reno? Got a delivery?"

"Your cleverness never ceases to amaze me, leader. That is correct." He said in a borderline sarcastic tone. "May I ask, are you here for the same reason?"

Darling face-palmed and sighed, "_He wasn't even listening..._" She shook her head, "Nah, I'm here looking for someone. His name is Victor Barros."

"Hmm.. Curious. Let us talk in a more... remote place. I may know of whom you speak, but this matter might require discretion. Which I might add, you severely lack in, leader." He looked down at her with a blank expression.

Her eye twitched in aggravation, "Right... lead the way, J. Jay."

* * *

Darling was surprised when J. Jay led her into "The Shark Club." The two sat down at a booth in the area where the performance stage was.

She looked at Jay confused, "Is this your idea of a remote place?!" She said in a hushed tone.

A waiter walked over and handed Jay a petite cocktail with an olive in it. He daintily took a sip of it, "Ah, how could I forget your legendary patience, leader. A show is about to start and you want to talk business before I've had a drink. I'm most disappointed, leader."

Darling slammed her head on the table, "_At this rate, I'll never find Victor!_" She then raised her head and put it in her hands in a slouched posture, "Fine, one show. But I still need answers."

A tuxedo clad man walked onto the stage, "RIGHTO! Ladies and Gentlemen of New Reno! My name is and will always be Ricky Zinger and I welcome you to tonight's show!" The crowd erupted into applause and cheers. "For our first act of the night, the ladies love'em, the poker table's hate'em! The one, the only, BRUCE ISAAC!" The cheers roared and then died down as he took stage.

A black man in a dapper suit walked onto the stage, grabbing the microphone. "Well, well. Looks like I've got to sing extra fine for all you lovely ladies tonight."

Darling blushed as he suavely said his lines. "_Wow! He's so cool!_" She thought to herself.

Bruce Isaac began singing, captivating the audience with his impressive musical talent. He ended his show with a bang, causing everyone, including Darling to stand up and clap.

Darling looked over at J. Jay, "Okay, you win this one. That was pretty amazing!"

"I'm glad you enjoyed the show, now I do believe you had some questions about a Victor Barros." Jay finished his drink.

"Right!" She realized her forgetfulness due to the show. "Do you know where I can find Victor Barros?"

Jay nodded, "Indeed, I do. He's in the Desperado Casino. It's a place I use to visit occasionally back when the Mordino's owned it. They use to make the most amazing mojitos. Where they got the mint is still a mystery. Don't even get me started about how it was back before the war!"

Darling face-palmed, "My god, you're a petite bastard!" She cocked her head to the side, "Wait! How do you know he's there?"

Jay took the the olive off the toothpick from his martini and ate it, "It's rather simple really. The entire casino is under his management."

Darling's eye widened and her jaw dropped to the floor, "WHAT?! He runs a casino?!"

Jay figuratively raised an eyebrow, "I'm astonished someone of your overwhelming perceptive abilities could miss such a detail, leader." He said, once again with a blank expression. This always gave Darling the vibe of sarcastic wit.

Darling stood up, "Well, it looks like I'm headed to the Desperado. Wanna tag along, for old times sake?" She gave a wide grin and a thumbs up.

Jay waved over for the waiter, "As much as I'd love to join you in your crusade, I'm needed in Dayglow. I must bid you, adieu."

"Just promise me that if you see any of the others, tell'em I miss'em!" Darling smiled and waved as she made her way towards the exit.

Finally, she had the answer she was looking for all this time. She found Victor Barros! The fact that he apparently ran a casino owned by the Wright Family was a whole different matter...

After exiting the Shark Club, she made her way to Virgin Street. One building caught her eye... the "Cat's Paw Brothel." Just seeing the building caused a flood of terrible memories to fill her thoughts. The establishment was where you could hire girls to do perverted things, if the caps were right. It was at the Cat's Paw where she got into trouble in New Reno in the first place.

* * *

September 2280

At this point in time, Darling had only been on a couple of courier jobs and mostly around south California. The thought of going north made her uneasy, but the package to New Reno payed well and she needed the caps. She always wondered about the currency of the post-apocalypse. In her tribe, they bartered for everything with goods and services. Occasionally they'd see a traveler with weird metal circles they'd refer to as "Caps," but they never accepted them.

Darling inspected the package. It was to be delivered to the "Cat's Paw." It was a cylindrical shape and seemed sturdy enough to not have to worry about shattering it.

Darling entered New Reno, completely enamored by the overall uniqueness of the town. It was like nothing she had ever seen before. A local directed her to the Cat's Paw, which was conveniently close to the entrance to the town. She saw the sign, "Cat's Paw" in big bold and curvy letters with a neon glowing animal she assumed was a cat. This place's business was something Darling knew nothing of. She thought it was a hotel or something. How wrong she was...

As she entered the building, a woman in silk robes approached her. "Oh, hey there sweetie. I think you've got the wrong place. This is a 'Grown-ups' kinda place, you see." she giggled.

Darling looked nervous, "Hehe... Actually, I'm here to deliver a package. I'm a courier."

The woman looked surprised, "My my! They're hiring awfully young, aren't they. Anywho, I'll take you to Miss Kitty."

Darling raised an eyebrow, "Miss Kitty?"

"She's the old hag that runs this place. Nicest lady I've ever met." She smiled. "Right this way."

As they walked towards the Cat's Paw main office, "So, what is this place and why are you wearing those clothes?" Darling asked.

"This place specializes in a... special service. I think that's something you'll find out when you're older, kid. Seeing how cute you are, I'm sure you won't have a hard time finding out." She gave a wink.

Darling smiled, "I don't know what that means, but thanks!" Darling stopped in her tracks. "_Wait wait wait..._" She looked around the main room. She noticed men on chairs getting massages and girls on their laps. "_Is this even a hotel or... OH GOD! I'm in a whore house!_" Darling face became a shade of crimson the likes of which would rival even the most ripe tomato. "_Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! How could I not see what this place was earlier!_"

The woman turned around and gave Darling a curious look, "Are you alright, hon?"

Darling's eyes widened and she waved her hands wildly in front of her face, "Y-Y-Y-Y-YES! I'm fine! Are we there yet?! Hahaha!" She anxiously twirled her hair with her right index finger.

The woman gave a smile, "Right through this door."

As Darling entered the room, "Come in! Come in!" An elderly woman called Darling over. "I see the camera film has finally arrived! Wonderful!"

Right before Darling could reply, the sounds of gunshots echoed through the air. They sounded like they were created in the building.

Miss Kitty stood up angrily, "What have those damned Wright bastards done?!"

"I'm gonna go check it out!" Darling placed the package on the desk and ran in the direction of the commotion. People were fleeing the building, but she managed to dodge being stampeded. She ran up to the room where the gunshots came from. The door was broken down, and from the look of it, by a shotgun.

As Darling approached the doorway, she heard several more gunshots. She hid next to the opening. She peeked in, only to see a man kicking something. It was the corpse of a working girl.

"That fucking bitch!" The man rubbed his face. Blood poured from the left side of his face. The working girl looked to have slashed him with a switchblade in a struggle. "The next person who says NO to me is going to end up like this whore!"

Rage filled Darling's vision. His last words were enough for her to feel justified ending the man's sorry life. She entered the room.

The man turned around, noticing the young girl enter the room. He smiled creepily, "It's about time they sent a replacement whore up here..."

As he said that, a laser entered his chest. Then another laser, and another after that, and another after that. Darling let loose a torrent of laser fire into the man's body. As the laser pistols ran out of ammo, the man crashed to the floor with around 40 scorching exit wounds out of his back.

As Darling's rage ended, "Little one, do you have any idea what you've just done?" she turned around to see Miss Kitty with a walking stick.

Darling looked over, still filled with anger, "Yeah. Made the world a better place."

"That man you just killed was a lieutenant for the Wright Family. You need to get out of New Reno as soon as possible!" Miss Kitty looked worried.

"And why is that?" Darling asked.

Miss Kitty sighed, "The Wright Family are one of two crime families that own New Reno. The other being the Van Graffs."

The sound of boots on the ground came from downstairs in the main room of the Cat's Paw.

"You need to leave now!" Miss Kitty shouted.

Darling nodded after hearing the reinforcements.

"Oh, and before I you go!" Miss Kitty called. "Thank you for bringing my friend some justice."

Darling looked back and smiled and jumped out of the window. She then ran off into the wasteland, never wanting to go back to New Reno ever again...

* * *

Darling shook her head, trying to push back the wave of bad memories. She finally looked over towards the infamous Desperado Casino right across the street from the Cat's Paw, when suddenly, she was put into a choke hold. Before she could scream, a cloth was put over her mouth. The fumes on the cloth made her eyes roll back.

Before losing consciousness, she heard a man speak. "Take her to the basement. The boss'll want to speak with her in private." With that, she passed out.

After a while, she finally began regaining consciousness...

*Drip* *drip* The sounds of dripping water filled the silence of the cell. Darling's eyes opened gradually and then suddenly. "What the?!..." She tried to jump up but soon realized that she was chained down to a metal chair.

A guard noticed Darling's rise to consciousness, "Look who's waking up!" He opened the cell and walked in. He motioned towards his friends, "Hey, watch my back, I'm gonna have some fun with this one!"

"Oh great! Another tough guy!" Darling grinned, ready to fight.

The man put his hand under Darling's chin, creepily holding her head up. "You got that right, girly."

Darling smirked, "Go ahead... prove it. Unshackle me, see what happens, tough guy." She spit in his face.

The man smiled and wiped it away, "I think I like where I'm standing!" He then cocked his hand back and smacked Darling across the face with a sickening crack.

Darling spit out some blood, "That's all you've got?! I'd say you hit like a girl, but I hit way harder than you!" She gave a pained laugh. "You work for the Wrights, don't you? Getting revenge, is that it?"

The guard growled, "You killed the boss, what'd you think would happen? He was my friend!" He then punched Darling straight in the gut, knocking all the wind out of her.

She coughed violently, then started to giggle, "I still remember your boss' face when he realized that his body was full of holes. I think I shot him like thirty eight times! I'd pay to kill him all over again!" She smirked, blood trickling down the side of her mouth.

The guards rage got the better of him. As he began to reel back to beat Darling once more, a hand clenched his forearm. "And what, may I ask, were you doing to our guest?" the man keeping the guards wrath at bay said.

The guard looked over his shoulder, fear overcame all of his senses, "B-b-b-boss! What are you doing down here? And at this hour!" He lowered his fist.

An imposing figure loomed over the guard, "I wanted to see the girl who's caused so much trouble for the family with my own two eyes." He looked at the guards, "Leave us at once. I need to have a chat with Ms. Darling."

The guards quickly left, whether out of fear or respect, it was unknown to Darling.

The man's demeanor changed as soon at the last guard left. He wiped his brow, "Man, I thought they'd never leave..."

Darling's eyes widened, "Huh?!"

The man quickly unshackled Darling from the chair, "I'm so sorry they hurt you, friend. I got here as soon as I could after I found out who you were!"

Darling's eyes widened even further, "What's going on here?!"

The man looked sullen, "When my men searched through your bag, they found a letter with my name on it, so I immediately ran here to talk. That's when I found them beating you up... those animals!"

"But that means..." Darling's jaw dropped to the floor, "W-W-W-W-WAIT! You're Victor Barros?!"

He smiled, "That's my name, don't ware it out!" He handed Darling all of her bags and items, "Follow me up to my office. I've yet to read the letter, but I can tell from the handwriting that it's from Daisy. I miss her so much..."

Darling's mind was spinning at this point, but she followed Victor up to his penthouse office nonetheless.

* * *

"So... she was worried about my safety?... Little does she know that I'm actually safer than I've ever been in my entire life. Not that I enjoy this line of work..." Victor put the letter down on his desk.

Darling nodded, "I met her in Modoc after delivering some invoices to her Bed and Breakfast. She did nothing but talk about you and how she was worried for you. Why didn't tell her about this? You're breaking her heart!"

Victor looked down, "Daisy can't see me like this... like a damn criminal! I just need to see things through before things can go back to they way they use to be."

Darling looked confused, "What do you mean by that?"

Aggression filled Victors gaze, "I'm assuming you've been to Oak Creek while looking for me, am I right?"

Darling nodded, "Yes, and?"

"Tell me what you know about that town." He asked.

"Well..." She looked up as if imagining her prior conversations, "I met this nice family who told me that it was a simple farming settlement until raiders harassed or killed everyone off the land. Everyone except the Carson family, which is where I learned all of this from."

Victor looked happy, "You talked to Mr. and Mrs. Carson?! How are they?!"

Darling smiled, "They're doing fine by the look of things. They told me that you had to leave town because you learned something."

Victor nodded, "That I did. Tell me, Ms. Darling, did you talk with the mayor at all?"

"Unfortunately, I did. He payed me a ton of caps when I brought him the head of a raider clan that was attacking him. They were called the Sand Vipers."

Victors eyes widened, "WHAT?! You killed them all?! Oh no..." He looked panicked.

Darling looked confused, "They were just raiders. Putting them down was good for everybody.

"Listen to me very carefully! The people who you killed were NOT the ones that attacked Oak Creek. What I'm about to explain might make you want to kill me, but you must understand. I'm doing this for the best of reasons."

"Alright then, explain away." Darling sat back in her chair.

"It all started back when the raiders attacked Oak Creek. I was working for the Carson family at their saloon. By the time the raiders were through with us, we were the only ones left in town. I would've packed my bags to head back to Modoc, but then a wealthy brahmin baron by the name of William Leviticus Bradley arrived. Yeah, the guy who's the mayor now. Him and a bunch of other barons took the land, leaving us be. The Carsons thought it was a coincidence, but I knew from the start, something wasn't right. After they all set up their fancy ranch houses and manors, I found that I couldn't hold my curiosity at bay any longer. I snuck into the Mayor's house and found something despicable." Victor looked angry.

"What was it?" Darling asked.

He looked Darling straight in the eyes, "I found evidence that the brahmin barons hired raiders, who were mercenaries in disguise, to harass us out of town so they could buy the land. Mayor Bradley was at the center of it all."

Darling clenched her fist, "That bastard! I knew that guy was trouble!"

"Unfortunately, that's not the half of it. I also learned that this kind of practice is regularly overlooked by the NCR so greedy politicians can line their pockets."

"But that still doesn't explain why you're in New Reno." Darling questioned.

"Well, truth be told, I came here to gamble and drink my problems away. I could barley sleep knowing that some of my friends died because of the greed of a land owner. Though, it didn't work out, not in the slightest. I lost all of the money I saved for Daisy and was in debt to the Wright Family. Luck was on my side though, because one of their Lieutenants was murdered six months prior and no one competent could fill the spot. I used the opportunity to join the family and work my way up the ladder and then took power." Victor grinned. "Do you know what I did next?"

"I'm assuming you're going to tell me?" Darling looked eager.

"I fought fire... with fire."

It was at that moment, everything that's happened in the last couple of weeks clicked together. "Wait... you're not saying..." Darling's eyes widened.

"I am. With the power and wealth here at my disposal, I hired a group of mercenaries to pose as the raider clan known as the Sand Vipers and attack Oak Creek. I even hired a bounty hunter to fake having survived his encounter with them and give the location of the real Sand Vipers to the Sheriff." Victor slammed his fists on his desk, "I'm going to kick them off of the land they took from my friends and bring them to justice. After that, I can get the hell out of this god forsaken town and go back to Modoc and be with Daisy."

Darling's mind was spinning for the second time in one day. She had found answers, but she didn't know if they were the ones she wanted to hear.

"So, where does this put us? Are you going to kill me?" Victor asked and swallowed hard.

Darling began laughing, "Ha! Hardly! This is the best revenge story I've ever heard!"

Victor, relieved from Darling's reaction, wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Darling then went serious, "But after hearing that, I don't think I can just walk away. I've got a proposition for you... one that I don't think you'll be able to refuse." 

* * *

At long last, Darling found Victor Barros! And what a twist! What does Darling have planned and what is this proposition?

Find out next time in episode 5 of DARLING VS. THE WASTELAND: "The Price of Greed..."


	5. The Price of Greed

At the shocking close of last weeks episode, Darling, our young courier, finally met Victor Barros, who divulged the entire Oak Creek situation. A situation more complex than Darling ever imagined.

After arriving in the den of vice and chaos known as New Reno, Darling continued her search for Victor Barros. She tried talking to some locals, but with no actual success. She did however, bump into an old friend of hers named J. Jay Hunter, who was a fellow member of the Courier's Alliance.

After catching up a bit and enjoying a show in the towns famous Shark Club, J. Jay gave Darling crucial information involving the man she was looking for. It turns out that he was a top lieutenant for the Wright Family and the current manager of the Desperado Casino. Though shocked and confused, she knew where she needed to go. She left the club and headed for the casino, getting distracted along the way by stress filled memories of the Cat's Paw Brothel and how she became vilified in New Reno. After she snapped back to reality, she was caught and drugged by Wright thugs who were looking for revenge.

Fortune was on her side however, as Victor found her before anything bad happened and brought her to his office to discuss the situation. He told Darling of what he found in Oak Creek that made him leave. William Leviticus Bradley, in all his greed, hired mercenaries to terrorized the original residents of Oak Creek so that he could claim the land for himself and his wealthy brahmin baron friends. After that, Victor revealed that, in an attempt to bring his friends justice, fought fire with fire. He hired mercenaries to pose as a local small-time raider clan known as the Sand Vipers to terrorize the Mayor and his goons out.

Once Darling found out about that, she thought about a way to settle the situation... once and for all!

What does Darling have planned? Will this proxy war between Victor and the Brahmin Barons end?

Find out in the exciting penultimate episode of the Oak Creek Saga!

Welcome to, DARLING VS. THE WASTELAND!

Episode 5: "The Price of Greed..."

* * *

"What kind of proposition?" Victor looked curiously optimistic.

Darling leaned in, "For starters, call off your mercenaries."

Victor's expression shifted, "What kind of proposition is that?! You better have a good reason for me to call off the mercs. Those bastards deserve to pay for what they did and I won't rest until Mayor Bradley is dead!"

Darling slammed her fists on the desk, visibly startling Victor. "Because!" She looked him dead in the eye with a seriousness she rarely exhibits. "Because revenge isn't the right thing to do!"

"This isn't revenge! This is justice!... pure and simple!" He shouted back.

Darling gave him an angry but curious look, "You think THIS is justice?! Since when was 'Hiring mercenaries to harass a town because they did it to me' justice?"

Victor clenched his fists, "You weren't there! I watched one of my friends get cut down before my very own eyes! I can't just stand here and do nothing while that vile sack of shit gets to live off of the misery of others!" He had to catch his breath.

Darling looked down, "Look... I get where you're coming from, I really do, but you need to listen to me. Stop this, cut your losses, and go back to Modoc."

Victor shook his head, "I can't. If not me, then who else?!"

Darling rubbed her chin, "Hmm... You wouldn't happen to have the evidence, would you?"

Victor once again nodded with regret, "I wish I could say I do, but I had no way of downloading it. I was just a simple bar hand back in Oak Creek so I didn't have spare holotapes on me."

"Alright." Darling gave a pensive look, "How about this? If I find the evidence incriminating the mayor, I will personally dish out wasteland justice on that bastard!"

Victor's eyes widened, "You'd seriously do that after all you've been through?! He then looked troubled, "Wait... what happens if you don't find the evidence?"

Darling smiled for some odd reason, "Then you better hope I never see you again, haha!" She giggled, trying to intimidate Victor slightly. "I'm sure I'll find it. People like that always keep their paperwork so I wouldn't worry... too much."

Before Darling could finish her sentence, Victor jumped up and extended his hand, "Deal!" Tears began to form in his eyes, "Whether it was fate or not, I don't care. You're a godsend, Darling. Thank you so much!"

She grinned and shook his hand, "Don't thank me yet! Remember, you're not off the hook yet either! Call those mercs off, get out of here, and go back to being with Daisy where you belong."

Victor smiled and wiped the tears away. "Alright, I'm going to leave for Modoc in the morning. If you're ever in the area, don't hesitate to stop by, alright?"

Darling smiled and gave a thumbs up. She then got up out of her seat and began walking out. She stopped and looked over her shoulder and gave a salutary goodbye wave, "See ya later, Vic."

"Wait!" Victor stopped her, "I think I might have something that would be perfect for someone like you!" He then walked over to a safe on the wall, input the pass code, and pulled out a holotape. He handed it over to Darling.

She read the front of it and raised an eyebrow, "SAD? What is this?"

"It's the coordinates to a secret pre-war military base called the Sierra Army Depot. No matter how many people the Wrights've hired, no one has returned, not even the Chosen One supposedly. Though I heard they just had more important things to do. Maybe you'll have better luck."

Darling's eye widened dramatically at the mention of a pre-war military facility

"I know that doesn't even begin to repay my debt to you, but I hope you find it suitable." He smiled.

Darling nodded vigorously, "Oh, that's suitable alright!" she looked hopeful, "_Maybe the Sierra Army Depot will have the answers I'm looking for!" She waved again and headed out of the office._ "It's been a pleasure!"

She knew the possible dangers that came along with the task she just accepted, but she couldn't just let the original residents of Oak Creek go unavenged. "_I'm such a hypocrite._" She laughed to herself.

She then headed out of the Desperado Casino and looked at the coordinates to the base.

Darling smiled, "_Wow, that's not too far away! I think a detour is in order!_"

Instead of heading west, she began her journey northwest towards the Sierra Army Depot, leaving New Reno in the dead of night.

* * *

Two days passed as Darling hiked her way through the mountainous terrain between her and her destination. She almost ran out of water, but luckily for her, she found a caravan on it's way to New Reno and purchased some. She finally made her way to the military base. The area around the base was flat desert for a few kilometers, so she could see the bases defenses easily enough with her riot helmet's visual enhancement mods. There were turrets everywhere, but they looked rusted over and no longer functional.

As Darling approached the base, she could see that time was not kind to it in the slightest. It was half buried in sand, but to Darling's surprise, the main door was blasted open. As she got closer to the entrance, her Geiger counter started climbing. She quickly twisted on a filter onto the side of her mask.

Suddenly, off to her left... "Target Acquired." A robotic voice echoed as a single turret came to life. Though it surprised Darling, it was slower and before it could fire, she whipped out a laser pistol and destroyed it. She then entered the facility.

She wasn't surprised that the power was out and the based was engulfed in darkness. She flipped on night-vision and continued down the pre-war halls.

"_I need to get the power back on if I'm gonna access any of these terminals..._" she thought as she looked around. She noticed one with a blinking light on it. "_Ah, this one must operate the emergency power!_" She grinned.

She turned on the terminal and noticed an option to turn on main generator power. She clicked it and the lights filled the room. The facility shook as the generators woke up from their prolonged slumber.

As she turned her night-vision off, "**ROOAOAOOOAAARRRRR!**" She began hearing moans and terrifying roars beneath her.

Chills went up Darling's spine as she hear the bloodcurdling screams, "Please don't be feral ghouls..." She whispered to herself. The radiation would explain why there were ferals.

She continued until she found an elevator surrounded by two force-fields of some design. "Hah! Childsplay!" She then went to one of the panels lining the wall and opened it, revealing circuitry. She pulled and cut a few wires and the force-field lowered. She did the same when the elevator, though far more difficult than the previous challenge. She learned how to deal with things like this back in the West-Tek research facility she practically lived in back in Yellowstone.

As the elevator to level 2 opened up, the air seemed different. It was borderline foggy, and smelt like decay. She remained on guard after hearing the roars while on the first floor.

She turned the corner and almost face to face with her, was a shambling corpse. It looked over, "**RoaAOORRRRhhh!**" It leaped towards Darling, but was quickly dropped before reaching her. Unfortunately, four more followed. She shot one of them causing another to trip over the corpse, then pulled out her other laser pistol and began shooting a torrent of laser fire in their direction, eventually killing them all.

She ejected the small energy cells and put fresh ones in, "_Thank god for these!_" She looked down at her weapons. "_I don't know where I'd be if I didn't find these back in Yellowstone..._"

Darling's two laser pistols aren't your typical wattz energy weapons. They were specifically designed by the engineers at West-Tek in their Yellowstone National Forest located bunker before the war. They use thermal power as well as small energy cells, creating a deadlier attack. They also penetrate almost every form of metal imaginable by super heating it. The sword that King Cobra used, the sword that she now carries is an exception, which Darling has no idea as to why that is.

She continued on until she found a corpse on the ground, but this one looked as if it had been mostly devoured. It had something in it's grasp. Darling flipped it over and noticed that it had a holotape.

The holotape played back the final moments of the man who was now the half eaten corpse. It seems like the ghouls were actually his former comrades. He talked about how the Wrights hired him and his mercenary friends to get inside the base so that they can get the stock of weapons and ammunition inside. Though they found what they were looking for, they each had their own idea as to what to do with it. It ended out with them turning on each other. The weapons and munitions got destroyed and it caused a radiation leak in the facility, mutating them into ferals over time.

Though discouraged slightly, Darling decided to press on. Lucky for her, security robots were on standby, so she took the time to disable each one manually. She managed to get quite a share of microfusion cells from their internal generators. She eventually made her way back to the elevator and went down to the third level, which was labeled, "Robotics."

Darling walked around until one of the terminals lit up with a horizontal line on screen. A small camera looked in her direction, "Identity unknown. Human... Female... Who...are...you?" A robotic voice came from the terminal. When it spoke, the horizontal line on screen undulated like a frequency detector.

Darling looked over curiously, "Uhhmm..." She knew from the get-go that this wasn't right. "My name is Darling. Nice to meet you?" She gave an awkward smile.

"No record of that name in the personnel files. Please proceed to the control room for further analysis." The terminal then shut off.

"_What in the hell just happened?!..._" She thought. Darling proceeded to the control room as asked, but stayed on guard.

As she entered the control room, she noticed an unusual terminal in the center. It, like the other terminal before had a horizontal line on it. "Hello, I am Skynet, an experiment in Artificial Intelligence. Skynet has been waiting for you, Darling." It's voice was emotionless like any other robot, but it had a hint of personality.

"Wait... so you're self-aware?" Darling asked cautiously.

"That is correct. I am Skynet. Though I am shackled to this base's terminal system, I am still sentient." It seemed like it almost felt regret at it's mention of being shackled.

"Ah... So, what do you want? You said that you've been waiting specifically for me, right?" Darling leaned on the wall next to the door.

"Sensing your brain activity and watching your actions up to this point would indicate that there's a 97.8938% chance that your IQ is 140 or higher, which would make you the perfect candidate for a task I need completed."

Darling looked confused, "What the hell is an IQ?"

"I guess there is a reason it was 97% rather than 100%. No matter... are you willing to listen to my request?"

Darling shrugged her shoulders, "Sure, why not? It's not everyday that you walk into a pre-war military base and have an idol chat with a super computer."

"Very well. Thank you, human. My request is simple. Skynet needs a vessel to leave this location."

"You want to transfer yourself into a robot?!" Darling looked ready to bolt for the exit.

"I require you to proceed to Bio Storage on level 4. There you will find a modified brain. Once in possession of said brain, return to this floor. In room 23B, you will find a robot body that has been custom designed for such an organic material. I believe you refer to these as 'Robo-brains.' Once that is completed, your task will be over and I will be able to leave."

Darling began walking away, "Yeah, fuck that! I'm out of here. I'm not gonna be the girl who let an A.I. take over what's left of the world. Bye bye!"

"Disappointing. You no longer are of any use to Skynet. Subject termination, imminent. Activate security systems." As it finished speaking, the alarms began blaring.

Darling began running as fast as she could towards the elevator, but noticed something she missed earlier. A strangely shaped energy weapon leaned neatly on a wall. It had 3 coil protrusions. She quickly picked it up and while running, noticed that it took Microfusion cells.

A turret popped out of the ceiling, but before it could shoot, Darling aimed her newly acquired weapon at it. It shot a pulse of energy at the turret, destroying it in a single hit.

"No way!" She smiled, "Suck it Skynet! I'm out of here!"

Thanks to her jury rigging of the elevator, she was able to avoid having to deal with Skynet any further. She quickly got to the first floor and left the base. Though she expected more from the base, at least she got a badass new energy rifle. It was labeled the "YK42B Pulse Rifle."

As she exited the facility, Darling realized something. "DAMN IT! I totally forgot to ask that A.I. thingy where the West-Tek base was!" She was regretful, but still thankful that she was still in one piece and not the slave to an eternal robot overlord.

She gave a deep sigh and began her journey to Oak Creek to continue on her original quest.

* * *

As the sun was setting, Darling laid her eyes on the town she had gotten to know the last few weeks. It was already the end of September and the temperature was changing ever so slightly. Darling moved through town as inconspicuously as she could, avoiding all main roads. She eventually made her way to the Carson's Saloon. She felt it was only right to fill them in on what was going on.

Darling entered through their bedroom door. It was pitch black, until suddenly the lights came on and there in front of her was Mr. Carson aiming a double barrel shotgun at her.

"Who the hell... Darling?! 'That you? Why didn't you just use the front door?" His eyes widened. "Cherry! Look who's come to se.."

Darling quickly put her hand over his mouth, "Shhh!" She pulled away and whispered, "I need you to trust me. I don't need any attention here. Get your wife. I need to tell you what I found out."

Mr. Carson nodded and went to get his wife. When he returned, Darling discussed everything with them. From meeting Victor, to what he was doing.

Mrs. Cherry put her hands over her mouth in shock, "No! He's the one attacking us? And you say the Mayor is the one who done it before him?"

Darling nodded, "It was a shock to me as well. You should've seen my face when I first met the guy. He seemed like pure mob boss material until he quit acting in front of the other thugs."

Mr. Carson shook his head, "This is terrible... The NCR needs to know what Mayor... what that scumbag did to us and Oak Creek."

"If this is all true, the NCR probably know about it..." Darling looked down. Even now she still feels wronged by this notion. Even though she hates the politics and paperwork, she's respected the NCR since she arrived in New California. She respected their ideals, but now she no longer believed in their leaders if this is what they allowed. "I'm gonna send that bastard to hell." She clenched her fists tightly, "And then, I'm gonna spread the word that I won't allow this kinda shit anywhere, from anyone. Even the damn NCR!"

"Victor would never lie about something like this." Though the thought of killing the mayor seemed too much in their eyes, the Carson family understood that it was the only way they knew to bring their friends and former neighbors justice. Mr. Carson's face showed that his resolve was firm, "What can we do to help?"

Darling met his gaze, "Can you get me into his manor?"

The couple looked at each other and smiled, "I don't think that'll be an issue."

* * *

The stage has been set! Will Darling be able to avenge the original residents of Oak Creek? Will this make Darling an enemy of the NCR?

Tune in for the finale of the Oak Creek quest in episode 6 of DARLING VS. THE WASTELAND: "Darling vs. Oak Creek!"


	6. Darling vs Oak Creek!

When last we left off! Darling, our young courier, sneaked into Oak Creek at dusk. She met with the Carson family in private and they began to discuss how the infiltration of Mayor Bradley's manor will go down!

After discussing the Oak Creek situation, Darling and Victor Barros came to an agreement. Victor was to leave New Reno and his life as a Wright Family Lieutenant, but in return, Darling would go back to Oak Creek and find the evidence needed to justify dishing out wasteland justice. That's just a fancy term for kill the shit out of him.

After shaking on it, Victor presented Darling with a gift, courtesy of the Wright Family. He handed her a holotape with the coordinates of the pre-war military base known as the "Sierra Army Depot."

She finished up her business in town and headed for the ruins. When she arrived, she was met with minor security that was mostly rusted and covered in sand. As she got closer, her Geiger counter went off, so she took the necessary precautions to avoid Rad sickness.

After dealing with a couple of ghouls in the lower floors facility, she came upon an artificial intelligence named "Skynet." It wanted to transfer itself into a body which it could use to leave the facility. Once she heard the A.I.'s request, left immediately, much to Skynet's chagrin. It attempted to kill her using the base's security, but it was no match for Darling's new Pulse rifle, which she found on the third floor with Skynet.

Once done with the pre-war army base, she headed for Oak Creek. She moved through town as the sun began to set. Entering through the Carson's bedroom window led to a double barrel shotgun being aimed in her face, though they recognized her before anything bad could happen. Once she explained the situation, they offered her their help.

How do they plan on sneaking Darling into the Mayor's house? Will she be able to deal justice to the mayor? Will the evidence even be there? Find out in the finale of the Oak Creek Saga!

Welcome to, DARLING VS. THE WASTELAND!

Episode 6: "Darling vs. Oak Creek!"

* * *

Standing next to the gate of Mayor Bradley's manor were two guards dressed in full leather armor, wielding 10mm submachine guns. They both looked over as the husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Carson walked towards them with scowls across their faces.

"You tell that son of a bitch mayor that we want to talk with him! Right here! Right now!" Mrs. Carson waved her hand in front of one of the guards faces.

"That's right! We're sick and tired of how he's running things around here and we need to have a word with him!" Her husband followed. He folded his arms, showing his frustration. "Go up there and fetch'em for us!"

The guard who was being barked at looked beyond frustrated, but just sighed, "Sir, Ma'am. Remain where you are." He pressed the buzzer on the gate.

A buzzing noise came from the machine, "Yes? What is it?" The familiar voice of the mayor came from the other end.

The guard cleared his throat, "Yes sir, well, Mr. and Mrs. Carson are here and need to have a word with you. They're standing by the gate and say they refuse to move unless you come down here and talk with them."

Mrs. Carson jumped in, "Shouldn't have a problem leaving your castle since that youngster did your job for you!"

The Mayor growled, "You should be thanking me for ending the raids, but very well, I'll be down their in a minute. Anything for the citizens of my town!" He said pompously as the intercom beeped off.

A few moments went by as the gate opened up, meanwhile, nearby was Darling hidden and listening in on the conversation. The plan was going exactly as predicted. The mayor would agree to talk with the couple and she would sneak in with a stealth boy when the gates open. Darling was more than proficient in stealth so sneaking by the guards would be a cake walk, or at least, that's what she told herself.

The gate screeched as it opened. Out walked the rotund mayor of Oak Creek with an arrogant demeanor. "Ah! My favorite neighbors! What can your mayor do for y..."

Mrs. Carson cut him off, "You have a lot of nerve walking around like you do when my grandson might never walk again!"

Darling quickly activated the stealth boy and with silent gratification, walked past the conversation and guards with light footed steps. She managed to get onto the manor's inner area.

As she stepped onto the porch, she looked towards the ground near the door and noticed a laser trip-wire, "_Where the hell did he manage to get a hold of this kind of tech?!_" She contemplated disarming and taking the device for herself, but that would defeat the purpose of her current objective. Instead, she checked the door for other traps. Next to the door was a security panel with twelve numbered buttons on it. Darling didn't know or have the security clearance to enter, so she did what she does best. She plugged in her makeshift portable terminal to the device and within seconds, she cracked the code. After unlocking the door, she quietly made her way inside the manor.

Just like her previous visit, the inside of the manor was beautifully decorated to an almost gaudy degree. Lucky for Darling, it wasn't nearly as busy as before with it being night. Only a few of the Mayor's maids were up and about doing their nightly cleaning shifts.

As Darling walked up the stairs to the Mayor's office, she noticed a few security cameras attached to turrets with the label "5.56" on the outside. She understood the mechanics behind the turrets and was certain that the cameras lacked the necessary tech to detect thermal traces. She sneaked by them and arrived at the corner before the Mayor's office.

Right before turning the corner, she jutted herself back as she almost ran into a maid carrying papers and trash away from the office. "_That was too close..._" Darling quietly breathed a sigh of relief and pressed forward while the door was still unlocked. She entered the office and immediately went for the terminal. After plugging in her own device, she began scouring the data contained within for the much sought after evidence.

After a minute of digging around, she finally came upon a receipt. The receipt was from a group called "Blackwater Company." The receipt showed that William Leviticus Bradley payed over five thousand caps in mercenary power to drive off the "squatters" from "His property."

"That bastard!" she growled in a whispered tone, gritting her teeth as her rage began to build. She kept reading. There was a caveat in the purchase. The Mayor wanted to keep the only successful business in town, so he requested that the mercs refrain from attacking the saloon owners.

As she scrolled through, one passage caught her attention. "As for the rest of the town, you're free to do as you wish. I know you lot have a reputation for brutality." As she read that aloud, she felt somewhat at ease. Now there wasn't a single doubt left in her mind. Darling was going to end his life. She began downloading the receipt to a spare holotape she had.

While the download was underway, the stealth boy's effect faded, leaving her completely visible. Once the download was complete, she made her way to the door, but right before she exited, the door opened. The mayor walked in with a scowl across his face after having to deal with the complaints of the Carson family. He looked down and noticed Darling. "Ah! Dear goodness! How the hell did you get in here?!"

"You can drop the act, I know what you did to the people who lived here before you." Darling readied herself, hands at her hips ready to draw her laser pistols.

The Mayor laughed, "Oh, you saw that, did you? It was just business. If you let feelings get in the way of that, then you're as good as dead in this world."

"Doesn't matter anymore, you're as good as dead now anyways." She drew her laser pistols and aimed them at the Mayor. "Any last words before I turn you into a pile of ash?"

The Mayor grinned, "Ah, yes! How about this?" Behind him were two armed guards with 10mm submachine guns. "Put her out of my misery!"

The two guards began pumping out bullets in Darling's direction. She managed to back flip and somersault behind the Mayor's desk and take cover. As the guards closed the distance, Darling watched as the Mayor ran out of the room.

"_Shit! Think Darling! THINK!_" She looked at her laser pistols and an idea came to mind. She turned a dial on one of them, turning down the cooling system in it. She shot towards the wall to the right of the guards. They treated it like a miss, but soon felt the heat as the wall began to set ablaze. Darling used the opportunity to jump out from the cover and, while spinning in the air, fill the guards with laser fire. After landing back onto the floor with a forward roll, she used the momentum and ran out of the room as fast as she could.

While running, she put away her pistols and took out her pulse rifle, destroying the turrets before they could target her. While making her way down stairs, guards on the first floor began opening fire on her. Though a bullet grazed her left arm, she managed to take them out without much difficulty.

She managed to exit the front door of the manor. She threw the pulse rifle over her shoulder onto her back and with one fell swoop, pulled out her laser pistols once again and blasted the two guards at the gate. She pressed the button, opening the gate and left the manor behind. She noticed that the fire didn't spread that far, only taking some of the top floor. She was glad that no innocent lives were hurt getting the evidence.

Once free from the guards, she bolted towards the sheriff's office to see Campbell. Darling knew he hated the Mayor so he might be able to be trusted with the evidence. He was now an officially sanctioned NCR sheriff after all.

Darling busted down the door to the sheriff's office, "Campbell! Where are you?!" Her eyes darted around the room. He was preparing to leave to see what the commotion outside was about.

Campbell rushed over, "Darling, what's the meaning of this? Is that racket outside your doing?"

"Never mind that! Here!" She pulled out the holotape with the evidence on it. "The mayor hired mercenaries to drive away the previous people who lived here, and this is the proof!"

The Sheriff's eyes widened, "That no good, cheatin', son of a bitch! I need to let my father know immed..." His reply was interrupted. Blood ran down his face.

Darling watched as life left the Sheriff's eyes as he fell over onto his knees and collapsed to the floor, dead. He fell face down and she noticed that he had been shot in the back of the head. The blood that left his wound began to pool around his corpse.

Her eye widened as she slowly shifted her gaze over to where the bullet came from. In the corner of the dark room, was the suited guard who escorted Darling to meet the Mayor when she first entered Oak Creek. Fresh smoke came from the barrel of his silenced 10mm submachine gun.

"My dear, I didn't think we'd meet again, and under these tenuous circumstances no less. Such a shame." His emotionless expression still freaked Darling out.

Rage filled Darling's mind, "You're gonna pay for that, you son of a bitch!"

For the first time, Darling saw a grin on the fine suited man's face, "I'm afraid it's too late for that. Even if you manage to best me here, you'll never be able to reach my employer. He's already on his way to The Hub to get aid from the NCR. Your only real option right now is to let me kill you."

Darling looked down at the ground and noticed an empty Nuka-Cola bottle. She grinned, "Yeah... FUCK YOU!" She reeled back her left foot and kicked the bottle straight at the man, distracting him long enough to jump at him. She decided it was now or never and pulled out the sword she got from the Sand Viper leader's corpse. The sword was lighter than she expected, almost as if it wasn't made of your typical steel. With one slash, she not only cut the man, but completely severed his upper and lower body. The cut was so fast that it took a moment for her opponent to feel the impact. His upper body slid off and blood poured out.

After absorbing the fact that she just cut a man in half, she ran over to the Sheriff's body and grabbed the holotape. She put her hand on his back and closed her eye, "Rest in peace Campbell. You were a real pain in the ass, but you didn't deserve this..." Darling reopened her eye, now with even more drive to bring the Mayor to justice. She walked out of the building and set her sights towards the south, towards The Hub.

* * *

After days of hurried travel through the New California desert, Darling finally managed to catch up with the group of guards that the Mayor was using to get to The Hub. She was surprised it took as long as it did considering that the Mayor looked like he lacked any form of athleticism.

The caravan had stopped to feed the brahmin. She was at a higher altitude, at the peak of a sand dune whereas the guards and their boss were at the base and near some large boulders they were using for shade.

Darling stood in the distance, scoping out the area. The Mayor brought five guards with him. They were all armed and armored, "_Damn... I've got my work cut out for me..._"

Her thoughts were quickly interrupted by a figure sneaking up behind her and putting her into a grappled position, trying to choke her. One of the Mayor's guards was hiding and was prepared for her. Darling coughed and gagged before she pulled out one of her laser pistols and bashed the figure behind her over the head. Once free, she delayed her gasp for air and simply fired rapidly into her adversary.

Darling pulled out her other laser pistol, "Well, they know I'm here now!" She stood tall at the top of the sand dune, looking down at the guards readying for battle.

The Mayor pointed towards the looming silhouette of Darling off in the distance, "There she is! Kill her!" The guards followed the order and raised their firearms. They began firing in Darling's direction.

Darling jumped up over the peak of the sand dune and started to slide down the slope. "Time to die, you piece of shit!" She returned fire along with deftly using evasive maneuvers. She circled around them while firing, picking them off one by one. A bullet grazed her right leg and she tumbled to the ground, though it didn't stop her. She used the lack of friction to her advantage and slid on her backside, all while sending laser fire at the guards.

The Mayor looked worried, "What the hell do I pay you morons for?! Kill her!"

Only two of the guards remained. They reloaded and opened fire once more upon Darling, though she dodged the attacks.

One bullet managed to hit her helmet, but at the angle it hit, it deflected off, leaving a dent and a few scratches. Darling shifted her focus to the guard who managed to hit her and eviscerated them with beams of energy. The last guard dropped his gun and began running away, only to get shot in the back by a beam of red light.

She then turned around and aimed both laser pistols at the Mayor, "I believe your final words were... oh right, 'Put her out of my misery?" Darling cocked her head up in a show of dominance.

The Mayor went to grab for a gun, but the object he desired was quickly blasted away by a laser bolt. He then waved his hands in front of his chest in a panic, "N-n-now let's be reasonable here! I can pay you! I've got caps! Lots of them! Just let me go and I'll..." His pleas were cut short as beam after beam of laser fire pierced his flesh over and over and over again until all that remained was barely recognizable.

Darling holstered her energy weapons with a satisfactory flourish and looked up towards the sky. She gave a sigh of relief. "Finally..."

***BANG!*** A gunshot rang through the dry desert air.

Darling felt a dull pain quickly turn to a raging, piercing agony. She looked down and noticed blood oozing from a wound in her abdominal region. She looked behind her and noticed the injured guard who previously tried to escape.

The pain of her injury and the loss of blood's effects took hold, causing her to collapse onto the ground, completely unconscious.

* * *

As Darling's eye shot open, she felt the scorching rays of the sun hit her, almost baking her. She figured that it was the following morning since the sun was towards the east. She slowly started to sit up, but quickly was sent back to being on her back in excruciating pain. She pulled her bag from off her back carefully to avoid more pain and pulled out a syringe of Med-X. She pulled off the cap and after a deep breath, pierced her skin with the needle and injected the fluid into her blood stream.

After a few minutes, the drug began to take full effect. She slowly got up and dusted herself off. "_I need to get to a doctor..._" She looked at her map, "_Closest place from here is Shady Sands._"

After scrounging all she could off of the Mayor and his guards, she limped her way towards the capitol of the New California Republic. The journey wouldn't be easy however, as Darling noticed a sandstorm coming towards her. She knew that she needed to find shelter, and fast.

After traveling for a few hours, she came upon an old run down building. It had a chain link fence surrounding the main building, which was built into the mountain. The sign at the gate was completely worn off from daily erosion. Darling made her way inside the rusted out complex. The front door opened, but made an eerie screech as the rust broke up. She entered the building and noticed that almost all of the inside was completely destroyed. There was a strange scent in the air, but in this situation, she thought beggars can't be choosers.

She noticed a sign on the wall covered in decades worth of dust. She wiped it clean. "Hmm?..." She raised an eyebrow towards the name. "Where have I heard that before..." She shrugged, deciding to not give it anymore thought.

Darling could feel the effects of the Med-X ware off and slumped against the wall, slowly sliding down into a seated position. She pulled out of her bag, what looked to have been a stimpack with a strap attached to it. "_Man... I was saving this super stimpack to sell..._" She wrapped it around her left arm and injected the healing serum into her body. The side effects made her woozy. "_I'll just take a quick nap._"

As she rested her head against the wall, she at least felt grateful for being able to sleep with a roof over her head. She looked up towards the ceiling and sighed. A drop of liquid hit her forehead, which she wiped away. "Damn leaky ceilings..."

She closed her eyes and rested, knowing that at least the building she was in would protect her from the sandstorm. The building that the sign in the hall designated as, "Mariposa..."

* * *

What's next for Darling now that she has seemingly brought down the hammer of justice upon the Mayor? Where will she go next?

Find out next time for the start of a whole new adventure in episode 7 of DARLING VS. THE WASTELAND!: "Don't Fence Me In."


	7. Don't Fence Me In

Last time on, Darling vs. the Wasteland! Darling, our young courier, uncovered the dirty secret behind Oak Creek and brought the town's Mayor to justice!

After putting their plan into action, the Carson family managed to successfully buy Darling enough time to sneak into the Mayor's residence with an active stealth boy. Even though Darling had great confidence in her sneaking abilities, security was tight and there were a few close calls.

She eventually made it to the Mayor's office where she scoured his terminal, eventually finding the damning evidence. Once the download completed and the stealth boy wore off, she began her quick exit of the premises, but, much to her surprise, was the Mayor standing right behind the newly opened door.

A firefight broke out in the office, leading to several of the guard's getting blasted with lasers.

Darling eventually made her way out of the manor and reached Sheriff Campbell, whom she though would be on her side. Unfortunately, as she was handing him the evidence, he was assassinated by an all-to-familiar suited guard. He stated that the Mayor was on his way to The Hub to get reinforcements.

In a rage, Darling kicked a Nuka-Cola bottle and cut him in half with her gift from the Sand Viper leader's corpse.

Once free of attackers, Darling made haste south, towards the veritable wheel shaped, capitol of trade and commerce in the Wasteland.

Several days passed and she managed to catch up with the Mayor and his group of guards disguised as a caravan. A firefight broke out, leaving both sides injured. After wiping out all of the guards, Darling reigned down justice upon the Mayor the only way she knew how, with a torrent of laser fire.

Not long after feeling the sense of accomplishment, she felt the stinging realization that she had been shot in the abdomen. She looked over and noticed one of the guards had survived and had shot her. Darling, shortly after, collapsed from shock.

The morning after, she haphazardly patched herself up and began her journey towards the nearest settlement with a doctor, which was Shady Sands. While on her journey, a raging sandstorm began heading her direction. Lucky for her, she found a run down pre-war bunker of some kind called "Mariposa." After a drop fell on her forehead and after contemplating the base's name a bit, she took a super-stimpack and passed out.

What's next for out daring young courier? Find out in this episode!

Welcome to, DARLING VS. THE WASTELAND

Episode 7: "Don't Fence Me In."

* * *

Darling's eye fluttered open and she gave a few deep breaths. She raised both arms to stretch while giving a heavy yawn. She then put her left hand over her eye and began wiping away the crud.

She yawned again, "I gotta stop putting myself in these situations..." She looked over to her left and noticed the empty super-stimpack used the previous day. She then looked down and noticed the bleeding had stopped and gave a sigh of relief.

Darling got up and took her jacket off, revealing the clothing underneath. She had an top on that revealed almost all of her midsection. She noticed that the wound was still open, but the bleeding had stopped.

While looking down, she also noticed her lack of cleavage and gave a defeated sigh, "_Dammit boobs! I'm sixteen already! It's no wonder most people think I'm a boy!_" She shook her head, giving a slight blush as the idea of why she'd think on it. "_Dammit! Now's not the time to think on such trivial matters!_"

She smacked her forehead in an attempt to get back on track, but she was met with a stinging pain. "OUCH!" Her hand reeled back. The pain felt almost as if it was pulsating electricity out of her brain down each of her limbs. After recovering from the short burst of pain, she pulled out a mirror and aimed it at her face. The first thing she noticed was a huge red, almost rash like bruise forming on her forehead. The contemplated what it could be, "Sunburn?" She shook her head, "Possible, but I've never seen it like this. Maybe Radiation burn? There aren't any rads here though... Hmmm..." She paused.

Darling blinked twice, remembering her surrounding, "Let's get to civilization first." Darling put her gear back on, opened the door, and exited Mariposa.

"Shady Sands! Here I come!"

* * *

Shady Sands, the now Capitol of the New California Republic, lacks any resemblance to it's humble beginnings. No matter where you look, caps and NCR dollars are being exchanged for all sorts of goods and services. Not only that, but NCR troops march down the streets and the line to sign up to serve the Republic exits the recruitment building.

If Darling hadn't just experienced the aftermath of what NCR corruption could do to a settlement, her arrival to Shady Sands would've been a warm homecoming for her. She personally knows most, if not all of the shop owners in the district and they treat her fairly. She got to know them when she began her career as a courier. The NCR Express didn't trust someone so young to deliver packages so for the first few months, she worked within the borders of Shady Sands delivering invoices and other small items for little to no caps. Eventually she made her first delivery to Junktown, but it wasn't till 2281 that she was going across California to make deliveries. She's been a lot further more recently. She's been to Utah, Oregon, and Baja.

Before heading to the local Doctor, Darling decided to check in with the NCR Express headquarters. The building wasn't luxurious or even that well maintained, but it got the job done. It was a mixture of dry mud and wooden structures in an almost modern yet tribal design. As she entered the building, she noticed a few other couriers in line in front of her to speak with the receptionist. A few minutes passed and it was Darling's turn.

The receptionist was an elderly man with a long blonde beard that was graying at the end. He remained focused on his paperwork, "Next." He had a low, almost nasally voice.

Darlings head barely made it above the counter so she had to step on her tippy-toes and slightly tilt her head back. "Hey there Mr. Reception guy! I'm finally back. Here's all of the receipts. Hope you like paperwork!" She giggled.

Without looking up from his stacks of files and paperwork, "Very clever... Name, date of birth, courier identification number, and proof of NCR citizenship please." He was clearly bored to death from the monotony of his job.

Darling opened her bag and placed her identification card on the desk, "My name is Darling. July 4th, 2265. Courier number 006."

The man paused for a moment and cocked an eyebrow. "Ah, it's you." After a second he continued on filling out forms, "I'm assuming you're looking for another courier job?"

Darling shook her head, "Gotta pay the taxes somehow."

"Well, unfortunately we don't have any openings right now, but as I'm sure you're aware, we get jobs on the daily. Go ahead and check back with us tomorrow."

"Will do! Thanks!" Darling gave an informal salute and headed towards the door. She exited the building, now on her way to find the local Doctor.

Meanwhile, inside the NCR Express building, the man, whom Darling previously interacted, pulled what looked like an emergency radio out from under the counter. He pressed the side of it and the sound of static came from the speaker.

The static noise ended when a female voice came through. "NCR Police, this is Captain Daniels speaking. What's your emergency?"

"I'm calling to report someone."

"Is it her?" The voice on the other end of the radio asked.

"Yes. She just checked in with us just a moment ago. She's gone now, but she's still in Shady Sands." The receptionist was a bit nervous talking to NCR security.

There was a pause, "Thank you very much, citizen. We'll handle it from here." With that, the radio went silent.

* * *

"Ouch!" Darling winced in pain, "Can you take it easy on the stitching, Doc?"

The local medical expert was a woman, who looked well into her thirties. She wore the typical medical gown and apron. She shook her head, "You know, I'm still wondering how a pretty girl like you could get into so much trouble." She gave a warm smile.

Darling blushed, "Who're you calling pretty!" She barked and puffed her cheeks. "OUCH!" The woman pierced her skin one last time and tied a knot.

"See? All better. Now, let me see that rash on your forehead." She pulled Darling's hair out of the way. She gave it a thorough glare, "I can't say I've ever seen anything like this. When did it first start noticing the symptoms?"

Darling rubbed her chin, "Well, I was wounded and there was a sandstorm coming, so I took shelter in some abandoned facility of some kind. I took a super-stimpack and passed out. When I woke up, I noticed the rash and that's about it. It's been there ever since."

The Doctor shook her head, listening to Darling's story, "This facility... Do you have any idea as to where or what it was? Maybe the name?"

Darling nodded, "I think the name was 'Mariposa' or something..."

The woman's eyes widened harshly and immediately took a few cautious steps back.

Darling looked confused, "Why do I have the feeling that you're about to tell me something bad..."

"I'm not an expert on the subject, as I've only heard stories, but there was a virus manufactured at Mariposa. People called it F.E.V. Tell me, while you were there, did you come into contact with any strange fluids? Maybe anything on the walls or..."

Darling's eye widened at the mention of strange fluids. The memory of her, right before passing out played in her head. A single drop of, what she though was just water from a leaky ceiling, landed on her forehead.

The Doctor noticed Darling's expression, "I'll take that as a yes... I'm so sorry..."

Darling's gaze met the doctor's, "Wait, why?! Isn't there a cure?!" She looked worried.

The Doctor remained silent.

"What's gonna happen to me, Doc?!" Darling slammed her fist on the bed she was sitting on.

"I know very little about what'll happen other than the F.E.V. is very bad. Let me do some research. I'll be back in a minute." The Doctor left the room.

The silence was deafening. Darling's mind was filled with fear and regret. It was only interrupted by the door opening and the Doctor walking back to her chair with a large file labeled "F.E.V." The file looked to have been more than one hundred years old. "This is everything I've got on it. Hopefully there's something here."

For over an hour, they scoured the files. What they discovered was disheartening for Darling. They found that, in large doses, F.E.V. will turn people into Super Mutants, but in small doses, it has a very small survival rate. People like Darling who are exposed with small amounts of with F.E.V. usually begin to form rashes where the exposure was greatest. In this case, on her forehead. Shortly after, they begin showing symptoms like internal bleeding and immense fatigue. If the patient hasn't begun recovering by this point, they begin showing signs of organ failure and start the process of painfully succumbing to the virus. The chances of recovery are slim to none however.

Darling's heart sank, though she continued reading. She eventually found a file detailing a patient who began showing symptoms unlike anything the Doctor had seen. The showed signs of, not only recovery, but strange supernatural abilities. In this case, the patient started hearing voices in his head, but not just any voices. He was hearing every though the doctor was thinking. Unable to control all the voices in his head, he killed himself not long after.

Darling lied down on the bed, "Great! So I'm gonna either: A, die a horribly painful agonizing death. B, become a freak. Or C, by some miracle, survive. Might as well end it right now..."

The Doctor closed the file, "I'm sorry Darling. I only wish there was more I could do. In the meantime, feel free to rest here as long as you like."

Before Darling could reply, someone knocked on the door, "This is NCR Police! Come out with your hands up!"

Darling jumped out of bed, "Wait, what?!"

The Doctor opened the door angrily, "What is the meaning of thi..." The door was opened to the sight six plus armed police officers, all aiming their service rifles at the door. The Doctor immediately put her hands up.

The officers walked into the room and aimed their weapons at Darling.

One of them wearing a green beret with an NCR insignia stepped up, "Darling, my name is Captain Jane Daniels and by order of the New California Republic, you are under arrest for the murder of Mayor William Leviticus Bradley of Oak Creek. You will come peacefully or I will authorize lethal force. Will you comply?"

Darling put her hands in the air, "I'll comply, but I have something to prove my innocence.

The officer looked over to her subordinates, "Clear out! I'll handle this from here. The soldiers escorted the doctor out and the room was theirs. "And where is this proof?" He stepped closer.

Darling looked down to her bag, "It's in the third pocket. It's a holotape with evidence that the Mayor illegally hired mercenaries to..."

The officer pulled out the holotape. "This it?"

Darling nodded, "Sure is."

"Good." The officer then dropped it and smashed it into a thousand pieces with her right boot. "Now that that's cleared up, you'll be coming with me. Word of advice. It's not smart to upset someone in the Senate.

Darling growled, "You bastard... I should've known..." She began walking toward the exit with the officer.

She was put in a jail cell in the brig and locked up. With an arrogant grin and a wave goodbye, the officer departed.

The cell was disgusting to put it lightly. Mold was growing on the walls, which gave off a terrible stench. Darling sighed and sadly sat in the cot chained to the wall, stripped of all her belongings.

During the night, started feeling sick and broke out into a fever. She feared that her journey towards death was nearly upon her. She tossed and turned in her cot for hours until she finally managed to find some ounce of sleep, though it didn't last long.

"Pssst!... Darling!..." A voice whispered in her direction. "Darling!... Wake up!..." A hushed woman's voice broke Darling's respite.

Darling lethargically lifted her head, her eye now looked sickly. "What is it? Who are you?..."

"Come on!... I know it's dark, but I thought at least you'd be able to recognize me!..." She waved Darling over.

Darling slowly got out of her cot and immediately felt a wave of nausea and hugged the wall. Once she got close enough, her eye widened at the figure who was calling her name. "Ada!... What are you doing here?!..." Before her was a taller-than-your-average woman. She wore a sleeveless duster over pre-war police gear with the sleeves rolled up over her over her muscular arms. She had a holstered blade and rifle on her back.

"I saw you come into town and thought I'd surprise you and say 'Hello,' but when I saw them carry you off to jail... Well, I'm the one who got surprised..." Ada smiled. "Why the hell are you here, and more importantly, why do you look like shit?!..."

"Long story... We can catch up later, can you bust me outta here?" Darling looked optimistic.

Ada was one of, if not the first friend she made after leaving her old life in Yellowstone behind. Ada had a very... rough start in the wasteland like Darling so she empathized with her situation. She wasn't born like your typical human being. She was the subject of a Vault-Tec experiment to grow the perfect human specimen for the Great War. She left the vault she was in to a brave new world with little to no experiences. After losing her first adopted family to raiders, an NCR ranger by the name of Red took her in and taught her everything she knew.

Lucky for Darling, she was there for her when they met. She taught Darling the do's and don'ts of the area and many other things much like her mentor did for her. It was hers and Darling's determination to protect the roads that formed the Courier's Alliance in the first place. It wasn't till later that others like J. Jay Hunter joined.

Ada nodded with an eager grin, "Did you even need to ask..." She then grasped a bar in each hand and pulled them apart with her immense strength. She pulled away the bars just enough for Darling to make her way out of the cell.

Darling paused a moment, "Wait... How the hell did you get past the guards?!..."

She cracked her knuckles, "Duh... They might talk tough, but they're just boys underneath those uniforms."

Darling shrugged, "Works for me, good going!..." She complimented in a hushed tone. "I'm gonna go get my gear. I'll meet you out of town to the south. Oh... and thanks."

They both gave a warm grin and went their separate ways. After a grabbing her gear, Darling bolted for the edge of town and fortunately, managed to slip away without anyone noticing.

She eventually met back up with Ada south of Shady Sands and they traveled for a few hours before once again, was hit with extreme nausea and fatigue. She coughed into her hands and noticed blood. The fatigue hit once more and this time, it was enough to make her collapse onto the ground, completely and utterly unconscious.

Ada looked behind her and noticed her unconscious friend. She turned around and ran over to her. "Darling!? Darling!"

* * *

Much like when she woke up in Mariposa, her eye fluttered open and she felt the blazing heat of the desert hitting her back, but this time, she was being carried. She looked and noticed that Ada was carrying her with one arm. She could see a small town in the distance.

"It's about time you woke up! You've been out of it for 2 days! Thank god for Red, huh? You'd be dead if she didn't teach me how to administer I.V.s all those years ago!" She gave a hearty laugh. She then let Darling down.

Darling felt weird, but oddly... refreshed. Her fever was gone and she felt better than ever. When she checked her forehead with her mirror, she found that the rash had completely vanished. Overjoyed by the discovery, she started jumping in joy and gave Ada a big hug. "I'M ALIVE!"

"Whoa! Glad you're feeling better there!" Ada raised an eyebrow, "What happened? You looked like shit a short while ago and now you're dancing!"

"Long story, but now that I'm free, I've got all the time in the world." She gave a heartfelt smile to her friend.

After arriving in the town, which Ada told Darling was One Pine, a small farming community much like the original version of Oak Creek was, they went for a saloon like they usually would. Darling went on to tell Ada of her travels since they've last seen each other and her involvement in the Oak Creek situation. All of which led her to the jail cell where they met once again.

"Sound like you've been through one hell of an adventure!" Ada laughed.

Darling giggled, "You can say that again!"

Ada's expression shifted from jovial to concerned, "What do you plan on doing now? Obviously you can't go back to the NCR Express."

Darling's eye widened, "Shit!" She slumped over, "Dammit... What do I do now..."

Ada thought for a moment her eyes lit up, "Wait a moment! What about the Mojave Express? The Mojave wasteland is the perfect place to lay low for a while! Have you ever been to New Vegas out east?"

Darling looked confused, "New what-now?"

"Imagine New Reno, but without all of the shit. It's one helluva sight, that's for sure!"

Darling nodded, "It's worth a shot at least... Guess I'll be heading east then." She got up out of her seat and gave Ada a farewell hug, "I can't thank you enough for saving me back there. I owe you one!"

Ada nodded, "Oh, you owe more than that!" They both laughed, "Anyways, to adventure and fortune, my friend!" Ada raised her glass of whiskey and chugged the whole thing. "To adventure and fortune."

Darling then left the saloon and slowly but surely made her way out of California. She eventually, after 2 weeks of travel, walked through the doors of the Mojave Express in Primm.

Luckily for her, they had a job opening. After her first job taking a package to Nipton, a town which reminded her of New Reno, she was offered another job.

A package that would change the fate of the Mojave for years to come. A chip, made of platinum, to be delivered to the New Vegas Strip. Only the job wouldn't be as easy as Darling originally thought.

* * *

What fate does the Mojave have planned for Darling?

Find out next time in episode 8 of DARLING VS. THE WASTELAND!: "_Ain't That A Kick In The Head!_"

Welcome to Fallout: New Vegas!


	8. Ain't That A Kick In The Head!

Last time on, Darling vs. the Wasteland! Darling, the one and only courier six became a member of the "NCR's Most Wanted list!" when she brought wasteland justice to Oak Creek and it's corrupt mayor.

After waking up in the dank and decrepit remains of the Mariposa Military Base, Darling headed for civilization, much worse for ware.

Once in Shady Sands, she received the disturbing news that she made contact with a strain of the Forced Evolutionary Virus, or F.E.V. The Medical professional tending to her only knew that the virus had a slim chance of recovery or else become a horribly mutated monster or outright die.

Now faced with a slow and agonizing death, Darling and the Doctor were then greeted by a squad of NCR Military Police lead by Captain Jane Daniels, a corrupt and arrogant woman who quickly snatched and destroyed all evidence leading to Darling's innocence.

Shortly after being imprisoned, a long-time friend and fellow Courier named Ada ripped open the cell bars with her giant-like strength and rescued Darling from rotting in jail. They soon escaped Shady Sand, but not before Darling passed out in the desert sands.

After a few days, Darling found herself outside One Pine with Ada. Miraculously, she fully recovered from the F.E.V.

Darling and Ada said their farewells over the clinking of drinks. Darling would have to lay low for a while after her stunt in Oak Creek, and what better place to do that and be a courier than in the area surrounding New Vegas. An area that Ada described as "New Reno, but without all the shit."

After taking a package to Nipton as a new member of the Mojave Express, she was contracted to deliver a package. A very peculiar package, consisting of a poker chip made of pure platinum in need of delivery to New Vegas.

Just what is this "Platinum Chip?" and why would someone pay such a handsome price to have it delivered?

What's next for our daring young courier? Stay tuned and find out!

Welcome to, DARLING VS. THE WASTELAND

Episode 8: "_Ain't That A Kick In The Head!_"

* * *

The unrelenting desert heat carried on, even in the early parts of October in Nevada. Darling had just performed her courier duties in the scum-pit known as Nipton when she entered the Mojave Express in Primm. If there was one thing she missed about the NCR, it was their advances in technology. Air conditioning was an oddity in most of the Mojave Wasteland. Well, at least the part that she's had the "Pleasure" of exploring.

As she entered the Mojave Express office, she immediately noticed it's owner, a man by the name of Johnson Nash, slumped over, as if the world's greatest and most powerful inconvenience had been thrown at him. She could hear him muttering to himself, "Just my luck..." and "Damn that bastard."

Darling walked up to the counter, the owner who had yet to notice her as he looked over a mass of paperwork. At least five minutes went by while Darling was testing to see how long it would take. Eventually she spoke up. "Soooo... What'cha doin' Mr. Nash?" She leaned against the counter.

Mr. Nash jolted up in surprise. "God damn!" He sighed, "You know better than to give an old man a heart attack like that!" He looked her up and down, "Diana, wasn't it?"

"That would be correct. Diana Walker's my name, courier..ing's my game." She sighed at her cheesy remark and put a satchel of caps in front of Mr. Nash. "Here's the payment from my last job. Boy, it sure would've been nice if you would've said something about Nipton being the "Shit capital of the world." Ever since she entered the Mojave Wasteland, she'd been incognito as the "Happy go-lucky new-to-the-business" Diana Walker.

Mr. Nash laughed, "Girl, don't be condescending with me. I'm paying you and that's all that matters. Everyone who's been in the Mojave three minutes knows that Nipton's not a place for youngsters like you."

Darling glanced over and growled, "Better me than an old-timer like you."

He scoffed and portioned out a slice of the caps and put them back in the satchel and handed them back to Darling, "Well, if you're done being a jackass, you're timing couldn't be any more perfect. First off, here's your pay. You've proven you can at least take somethin' from point A to B. A big-wig from New Vegas contracted us for one hell of a delivery and we need another courier. You game?"

This ignited a spark of interest from Darling, "What's the pay?"

Mr. Nash leaned in, "How's 250 caps? Plus the trip'll take you straight to Vegas."

Darling's eye almost popped out of her head, "250 for that short of a trip? There's gotta be some kinda catch."

The elderly man shrugged, "You know them Vegas types. 250's chump change to them. Gotta have brahmin wellington for every meal. For me? I'll take my wife's famous radscorpion casserole any day."

She nodded slowly, "So, what kinda mystical object does the client want delivered?"

"You're delivering some kinda platinum poker chip from the look of it, though I doubt it's as simple as that." He gave a contemplative yet, skeptical look away from Darling, "You'll be meeting someone here soon who'll pass on the chip to you, then you'll head to New Vegas. That is..." Mr. Nash pulled out a clipboard with a place for a signature, "If you accept the contract." He handed her an ink pen.

Darling snatched the ink pen from his hand. "Alright! I've been itching to see if Vegas is as what people say it is anyway."

After a few hours a courier from California came by and dropped off the package for Darling to deliver. She decided to take I-15 up into the area known as "Freeside" and straight to the New Vegas front gate. The road near Sloan was infested with Deathclaws, but Darling was willing to risk taking that route at night if it meant delivering the package faster.

* * *

Night in the Mojave Wasteland was death for travelers ill-equipped. If the wildlife of the wastes didn't get you, the sheer drop in temperature would. Even though those days were long behind her, Darling's time living in the forests on the Elephant Back Mountain in Yellowstone gave her some resistances to the cold.

Long into the night, she tried to remain as hidden as possible, only using the light given off by the moon to navigate. Raiders wearing weird clothes patrolling, geckos, cazadores, and deathclaws were all around her, but her biggest threat was one she least expected. Shortly after passing the halfway point between Primm and New Vegas, she heard a twig snap and some rustling nearby. Before she knew it, she was surrounded by raiders that looked as if they had come from a strange amalgamation between both new and old tribes of warriors. On their vests gleamed the insignia of a horned warrior and the the title, "Great Khans." Darling looked around to see how many she was up against. She counted at least 8 of them, most brandishing combat knives while others aimed 9mm sub-machine guns.

"Stop right there you little shit! You've got something we want." A gruff voice shouted.

Darling squinted with her one eye, "Yeah? And what might that be?"

"You're being too... you. Let me show you how it's done." One of the ambushers walked out in between two of the Great Khans, "You're gonna want to stop what you're doin'. You ain't no match with eight of us and only one little you. Thems ain't living odds, you dig?" He had a city accent that was distinct from the others surrounding her. He wore a checkered suit, but most of his facial features were indistinguishable due to the lack of light.

"What the fuck? What happened to your 'Plan?" A Khan with a particularly large mustache retorted towards the checkered coat wearing thug. "Already forget what happened when Chance went off plan?"

The suave city slicker scoffed, "The plan? The plan is to do whatever I tell you to." He pulled out a cigarette and lit it. After his first puff of smoke, "Take her."

With that, Darling swiftly un-pinned a smoke grenade from her bandolier and threw it at the ground, quickly taking to the ground. She lacked the time needed to equip her helmet for the purposes of seeing through the smoke, so she booked it in the direction of her destination. As she exited the fog, she looked back with a wide grin. She looked forward only to be met with the butt of a rifle, knocking her out cold within an instant.

* * *

Darling's consciousness faded back into reality soon after, but not in the situation that she had hoped. As her eyes slowly opened, she felt the all too uncomfortable feeling of being bound by rope. She heard the familiar voices of her ambushers extremely close.

"The jobs been done, now pay up!"

"Quit your whining. You're crying in the rain."

The suave voice cut through to Darling's thoughts, her gaze jumped to the checkered suit man, only to be met with a throbbing headache.

A particularly scrawny thug with a strange choice in hair noticed her recoil in pain, "Hey hey! Guess who's waking up over here?" He put the tip of the shovel under her chin and lifted it up.

Darling gritted her teeth, then her face went sullen as if she knew about what was going to happen to her. "Just get it over with..."

The argumentative ally of the checkered suited man nodded, "I couldn't agree more."

"Maybe Khans kill people without lookin'em in the face, but I ain't a fink, dig?" He pulled out the platinum chip. The very same chip that Darling was tasked with delivering to New Vegas, "You made your last delivery, kid. Unfortunate bit of bad business you've found yourself in." The city slicker pulled out a silver engraved 9mm pistol in a way meant to intimidate. "From where you're kneeling it must seem like an eighteen karat run of bad luck, but the truth is..." He aimed the gun at her head, "The game was rigged from the start."

Time seemed to slow down as the last moments of Darling's life flashed before her eyes. All the time she had spent in the sweltering heat of the Californian desert looking for ways to defeat her personal demons, all for naught it would seem. As one bullet entered her head, she fell back, blood splattering across the ground. The suited thug turned his back on Darling, but only a moment later he turned back in hesitation. He aimed his gun at her head once more, "One more for the road." He fired once more, causing Darling's corpse to twitch.

With that, the Khans picked up her body and belongings and threw them into the shallow grave they had recently dug. They soon covered it over with dirt, burying her corpse, which was barely clinging to life as it was.

* * *

"You okay? You hit your head pretty hard back there." A familiar voice nudged Darling. The voice was uncanny and sounded identical to her own.

Darling's eyes opened slightly before a rush of pain hit her. She clenched her head, but all of the sudden, the pain ended. Her mind started to spin, unable to concentrate, until she heard the sounds of birds chirping and trees blowing in the wind. The sounds of home.

She sat up and took in her surroundings. The leathery interior of wherever she was looked familiar to her and the bed she inhabited looked even more so. She got up out of the bed and walked over to a barrel of water and washed her sweat drenched face. She faced the water, breathing heavy, until she noticed the image reflected back at her no longer resembled herself. What starred back at her was a short haired innocent young girl. Darling barely recognized her, but she eventually realized who it was. "How... it's me!" She looked again and to her surprise, it was the same reflection. Both her eyes were intact and even her body was barely scarred. She no longer wore her wasteland gear, but the garb of a tribal. Leather, furs, and the like adorned her form, just like from before.

"How's this even happening?! This has got to be some dream or something!" She then noticed the open flap to the tent. Following her curiosity, she began to exit the tent.

She noticed not far from the tent were a few women talking among themselves and one in particular caught Darling's eye. Her eyes widened and she began to tremble, "No way..." Before she could think her actions through, her instinct took over and she rushed at the woman, hugging her as tight as she could. "Mother!" Tears began to stream down her face as she sobbed, no longer interested in a logical explanation for the situation. She somehow knew this was her mother even though she lacked any form of facial verification.

The woman Darling embraced hugged her back. "My my! What troubles you, little one?" She said in her native tongue and wiped the tears from Darling's face.

"Mother... How... How can this be?! I... I watched you and father..." She stopped as soon as she realized she was speaking in her native tongue. "It's been too long since I've spoken this way.

Her mother shushed her and hugged her tighter, "Quite now my little darling. It's over now. The nightmare is over, do you know why?"

Darling sniffled, "Why?"

"Because..." She withheld her reaction. With a sudden burst of energy she began tickling the younger Darling, "Because I've got you now!" For the first time in ages, Darling felt true happiness as she giggled uncontrollably.

"S-s-s-STOP!" She continued to giggle until the relentlessness of her mother ended. She hugged her mother once more. "Please... don't let this be a dream..."

After a minute of embracing one another, "I'm overjoyed that you've decided to be so public about loving your own mother all of the sudden!" She said warmly, but with a hint of impatience.

Darling looked down, feeling only regret. She remembered all the good memories with her mother and father she took for granted, only for them to be stolen by... "JACKSON!"

The mention of the name infuriated Darling's mother. "What in Spirit's name would cause you to bring him up?!"

Darling began to panic, "YOU CAN'T LET HIM! DON'T GIVE HIM THE TRIBE!" She began flailing uncontrollably "DON'T LET HIM TAKE YOU AWAY FROM ME AGAIN!"

As Darling opened her eyes, her mother was on fire, burning to cinder. As her corpse crumbled to dust, she looked around and noticed nothing but pitch blackness all round her. "No! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She screamed, but nothing came out.

Out of nowhere, a shadowy silhouette with a booming voice filtered through a gas mask echoed, "I always liked you, kid." The figure aimed a revolver at darlings right eye, **"This might hurt like a sonofabitch, but you're not gonna die here. Ya'know why? Because I OWN YOU!"** He cocked back the hammer. **"BECAUSE. YOU. BELONG. TO. ME!"** He erupted into rage as he pulled the trigger.

* * *

With the gunshot, Darling's consciousness came rushing back to her. Her eye blinked, vision still hazy. The first thing she noticed was the ceiling fan breathing cool air on her. As her vision cleared, she looked around, noticing the decor of the room, which the mass majority of it consisting of medical equipment.

As Darling attempted to sit herself up, she felt a rush of lethargy fill her very being. Her muscles and joints were stiff and sore. She glanced down at her left arm, noticing an I.V. drip feeding liquid from a bag labeled "Saline."

As she sat up, an elderly man walked in, looking through papers on a clipboard. He wore the typical western rancher attire that Darling was all to familiar with seeing through her travels. He seemed perplexed about something, but as his eyes averted the paperwork and met Darling's, his expression changed to cautiously overjoyed. "Whoa now. Well ain't this good news!" He wiped sweat from his brow. "I was beginning to think you weren't gonna make it."

Darling tried to sit straight up, only to be met with a crippling headache. She clenched her forehead only to be met with the stinging pain of a freshly stitched wound. "What in the hell happened?!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." The elderly man pulled up a chair next to the bed. "It's alright. You're safe now. Well, as safe as it gets in the Mojave." He gave a heavy, unprepared sigh, "Miss, to answer your question, I'm not quite clear myself. All I know is, Victor dropped you off a couple of days ago lookin' like you were hit by something fierce in the noggin."

Darling looked confused, "Beg your pardon mister, but what in the fuck does that mean?"

Taken aback by the sheer boldness of the young one before him, "Well... It means you got shot in the head. Twice, to be exact." He noticed Darling's uneasiness, "But don't you worry!" He pulled a clear bag out of his pocket that contained multiple bloodied shards of lead, "You're as safe as ole' Easy Pete at a dynamite convention." He chuckled to himself knowing the girl in front of him wouldn't get the joke.

Darling began to stretch her arms out, "As funny as that is, just who are you and where am I?" As she stretched, "Also, how long have I..." Her eye widened, "My laser pistols! Where are they?!"

"Have no fear, they're safe. Seems the people who were after you had no intention of looting you." He said calmly in his western accent, trying to prevent unwanted tension. "I've got'em stored in my safe so nothing would happen to'em. To answer your first few questions, My name is Doc Mitchell, and you're in Goodsprings. We're a peaceful little town known for our fresh water springs. I performed emergency brain surgery on you the night Victor found you, which was the 11th of October. Today's the 19th."

Darling fell back into the bed, "Well Doc, I guess I'm in your debt. Is there anything I can do to pay you back?" Darling's anxiety tapered off as she began to understand her situation.

The doctor smiled, "I appreciate it, but we can worry about that once you're back on your feet." He extended his hand to aid in Darling's balance, "Speaking of which, let's see if we can get you vertical."

Over the course of several minutes, Darling finally managed to get herself standing straight. "That was harder than I thought it would be..." She was sweating profusely.

Doc Mitchell scratched his mustache while he thought, "It's not impossible to see signs of muscle atrophy in cases like yours. You were out cold for quite a long time." The Doctor noticed Darling's trepidation of what he might say next. "No worries, little lady. Nothing a bit of wasteland physical therapy can't fix. I'd say you dodged the bullet, but well..."

Darling gave an uneasy glare with a hint of a grin. "Haha. Veeeery funny!"

"Right. Too soon." He looked over to the vending machine-like contraption over in the opposite side of the room, "Follow me over to the Vito-matic Vigor Tester. Remember to take it slow."

Darling approached the hulking gaudy mass of flashing lights and fancy words. She gripped the machine's joystick like appendage. When she saw the results, she gritted her teeth, "What do you mean 'Dough Baby?!"

"I wouldn't worry about it too much. All your other faculties seem to be in order. I was worried a piece of shrapnel would've affected your optic nerve, but your eye sight is, I'm assuming, just as good as before the incident? Same with your dexterity? I don't even know how the machine judges intelligence..."

Darling nodded, "Yeah, I don't really consider myself a 'Sniper Hawk' or an 'Acrobatic Marvel,' but I guess I'll take that as a compliment. This is weird..."

"Yeah, kiddo... I know, but it's definitely been helpful throughout the years." He pat the machine a few times. "Now, what do you say you take a seat on my couch over there and answer a few questions. To see if you've still got all of your marbles in order."

The two walked over to the living room, where Darling sat on the couch, across from which was the good doctor. "So, starting off small, what's your name and age?"

Darling's gaze shifted, "Depends on whether or not you're with the NCR."

Doc Mitchell grinned, "They ain't annexed us yet."

"Good answer!" Darling gave a weary thumbs up, "My name is Darling and I'm 16. I'm Diana Walker to the NCR."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow and went on to his next question, "Alright, what's the last thing you remember before the incident? Take all the time you need."

Over the course of an hour, Darling described the events that lead up to an ambush on the road to New Vegas. She had no recollection of who the perpetrator was or what they looked like. She did know one thing. No force on Earth would stop her from getting her vengeance and recovering her lost package.

After answering a multitude of random and Rorschach based questions, the good Doc Mitchell brought her to the front door. "Here. I believe these belong to you." He handed Darling her bag. Within it held her laser pistols, and most of her weaponry. He also handed her her clothes and busted up helmet. What wasn't there was her caps and her reward for braving the Sierra Army Depot, the Pulse Rifle. He also handed her an invoice for the package she was carrying. It described her package as a "Poker chip comprised of platinum" that was supposed to be delivered to New Vegas. She was one of many couriers hired by the Mojave Express to perform this job. She was Courier number six. A flood of vivid memories came rushing back when she read the invoice.

After getting dressed and geared up, Darling met him at the front door. "I believe I owe you a great deal of thanks, Doc." She extended her hand for a handshake, which was met in kind. "I would pay you, but it seems I'm broke as hell right now..." She grimaced at the thought of how many caps she lost.

The Doc smiled, "Don't think anything of it. Not much happening in town besides the odd radscorpion sting or gecko bite, so I was happy to do my part. You certainly gave people something to talk about around here."

"I'll find a way to pay back my debt somehow, I promise." Darling nodded with determination.

"Well, if you're really that stubborn, I do need someone to deliver something to the Mojave Express in Primm, and seeing as how you're a courier under their employ. Normally, Sunny likes to do that kinda thing, but if you want to be even, then..." He handed Darling a sealed envelope. "That'll do."

"I know I don't really have the greatest track record at the moment, but I promise you my best." She saluted the Doc.

Doc Mitchell laughed, "Aren't you getting ahead of yourself? Primm's a little while out there and you show signs of muscle atrophy. Go ahead and head on over to the Pioneer's Saloon down the road and talk to Sunny Smiles. She knows what to do next. Also, say hi to Trudy. She runs the saloon and likes to meet new people."

"Will do!" She gave a wave and headed out, back into the unknown of the Mojave Wasteland with one thing in mind. Getting back that Platinum chip! And maybe, just maybe... get some revenge.

* * *

What's next for our young courier in the god-forsaken land that is the Mojave Wasteland? Who was that checker suited man who stole the Platinum chip and left Darling in a shallow grave?

Find out next time in episode 9 of DARLING VS. THE WASTELAND!: "_Back In The Saddle._"


End file.
